We Are Family
by Ultrawoman
Summary: COMPLETE 4th story in the series and sequel to 'Sons & Daughters' End of the series. Please R&R.
1. The Big Events

A/N : Here it is, the long awaited fourth story in my series. My only hope with this fic is that it lives up to everyone's expectations. Thanx to everyone who reviewed the third fic in the series and also my movie-based fic. I hope you all enjoy this story just as much as you did those. It is only because so many people reviewed and requested a fourth story to the series that I am writing one. 

I plan to move the focus off of Lars and Jackie, who featured heavily in story three, and concentrate more on Phillippe and Diana, and some other family members who I've yet to explore (once you've read the first chapter I think you'll be able to guess who I mean). Obviously Mia and Michael will feature as much as possible along with their new baby daughter.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough, so on with the story...

Disclaimer : Characters belonging to Meg Cabot - Mia, Michael, Lars, Lilly. Characters belonging to Ultrawoman - Phillippe, Diana, Jackie, Baby Lilly Amelia

The wedding of the Queen's head of security and the mother of his daughter was Genovia's biggest event of the year, second only to the birth of a new Princess. Finally Lars and Jackie and their daughter Diana were to be a proper family and as a wedding present, Mia and Michael had given the new family a wing of the palace which was to be there own. That way, they had their privacy but still felt like part of the royal family, which of course they were, in every way but in name.

Diana was ecstatic to be staying at the palace. Not only was she able to be with both her parents but also she was able to be with the man she loved. On the same day that her parents had become re-engaged, she herself had accepted the marriage proposal of Phillippe, the Prince of Genovia and heir to the throne. Their engagement was to be a long one as even now, eight months later, Diana was only seventeen and the Prince barely nineteen.

This meant that Diana did not become the very next Genovian princess. 

She was beaten to the title by a new born child.

The latest member of the Renaldo family lay in her crib fast asleep as her loving parents looked on.

"How hard can it be to think of a name?" Michael asked his wife "The poor child is three weeks old and still nameless"

Mia smiled.

"Well, it's obviously not as easy as one might think or we would have come up with something by now, wouldn't we?"

There was silence for a moment and then she continued.

"I think it should be your choice what we name her. After all I named Phillippe. First name after my father and second name after you"

Michael looked thoughtful.

"Well, in that case her middle name should be Amelia, after you", his wife smiled at that, "but I really don't think her first name should come from my mom"

"Why not?" Mia was curious.

"Well, because, I was thinking, what about...Lilly?" he said, cautiously.

The child stirred in her sleep and the Queen picked her up.

"Of course, Lilly. After your sister, my best friend, and this little one's aunt - what could be more perfect?"

The baby's eyes flickered open and her parents smiled down on her.

"And so you are to be Lilly Amelia Thermopolis Moscovitz Grimaldi Renaldo" Mia grinned and Michael couldn't help but laugh.

"The poor kid's got more names on her own than some family's have got between them!"

Mia shot him a look and silenced his laughter, and a pair of tiny blue eyes watched it all.

"It doesn't matter" Mia told her husband, "whether she has ten names, one name or no name at all, she's our little princess in more ways than one, and she means the world to me"

"I know what you mean" Michael smiled again, "Our little Lilly" he said, looking down on her again, "Let's just hope she doesn't grow up to have her name-sakes attitude problem"

The couple laughed together as a light tap came on the door.

"Come in" Michael called and a maid appeared.

"Excuse me sir, madam, but there is a Mrs Pelkowski here to see you"

Mia and Michael exchanged shocked glances.

"Lilly's here?" they said together, before hurrying out of the room and down the stairs to meet their guest, their friend, their sister, the aunt and namesake of the young child that Mia carried in her arms.

A/N : Basically that was kind of an introduction. The interesting stuff really starts happening in chapter 2, which I will post as soon as I can. In the meantime, please review and tell me what you think so far.


	2. The Two Lillies

A/N : Wow! 18 reviews on the first chapter - I am so flattered. I'm glad you all seem to like this story as much as the others I have done. Thanx to; FormerAngel, macdeniken, swim6516, Lexi, princessvampire, Crazy Canuck, sapofbks2002, Clavel, Starbright Moonlight, XxArEULoStxX, Maddy Nicola Snape, Cassandra Anthemyst, alex nicole christensen, A Sorta Fairytale, ndblue123, tetris, and the two anonymous reviewers too. All your kind words mean a lot and inspire me to keep writing.

I'm not sure how long this story is going to be yet. I have several ideas for where I want to take this so I'll just have to see where inspiration takes me. I hope you all enjoy the ride.

Here's chapter 2...

Disclaimer : Characters belonging to Meg Cabot - Mia, Michael, Lilly, Lars, Boris. Characters belonging to Ultrawoman - Phillippe, Diana, Jackie, James, Laura, Nina, Princess Lilly Amelia

"Lilly!" Mia shrieked as she hurried down the stairs, her baby of that same name in her arms.

"Hey guys" the woman in the foyer called as she saw her brother and his wife descend the stairs. As the three people met at the bottom of the staircase there was a lot of hugging and greeting.

"So how are you? What's with the sudden visit?" Michael smiled at his sister, pleased to see her again.

"Well I came to see my new niece" Lilly grinned, as Mia passed the baby to her.

"We're calling her Lilly Amelia..." Mia said proudly.

"...after two of the most important women in my life" Michael finished the sentence with another smile and Lilly smiled for a moment too, before tears spilled from her eyes.

"What's the matter, Lil?" Mia put her arm around her friend and sister.

"Nothing, really..." Lilly handed back the baby and wiped her eyes "it's just, well, the truth is..." she rambled, "I've left Boris"

"What happened?" Michael asked, concerned.

"I don't know really, things just got complicated and hard. I'd get mad then he'd get mad and we were arguing all the time" Lilly tried to explain without further tears, but she was having a hard time, "I just had to get out and I didn't know where else to go so I packed a bag and caught the first plane over here"

"It's okay Lil. You know you're always welcome here and we'll do whatever we can to help" Mia assured her.

"Thanks", her sister in law managed a genuine grin, "I really do mean that"

No-one got a chance to say anything else as Phillippe came bounding down the stairs with Dina close behind him.

"Hey, Aunt Lilly!" he called, always pleased to see his fathers sister and mothers best friend.

"Phillippe! Wow, you've really grown. Taller than your mother already!" she grinned, hugging him "And this must be Diana?" she added, noticing the blonde girl, almost hiding behind Phillippe. "Hello Mrs Pelkowski" she said, stepping forward, nervously.

"Oh please, sweetheart, call me Lilly" she was told as her fiancé's aunt enveloped her in a hug too "Y'know I'm going to be your aunt too, one of these days"

"Not yet, Lilly, they're only kids" Mia didn't sound annoyed but maybe displeased. Lilly rolled her eyes at her sister in law as another couple appeared in the foyer.

"Miss Lilly, I thought I recognised that voice" Lars grinned and moved to take the hand of his employers' sister, whom he had come to be friends with over the years.

"Lars! How are you? I saw the wedding on TV, it was beautiful. Congratulations" Lilly gushed. Mia was surprised at how well her friend covered the pain she must have been feeling. It really was an incredible facade.

"I'm just fine, and thankyou" Lars smiled "This is Jackie" he added, introducing his new wife.

"Hi," Lilly smiled her unique smile and shook the hand that the blonde woman offered. "Y'know I could tell straight away that Diana was your daughter. You look so alike"

Mia sighed at Lilly's behaviour. She was a marvel. Crying painfully one minute and a moment later smiling and laughing and talking to everyone about everything as if she couldn't be happier.

"Maybe we should move into the main sitting room" the Queen suggested, noticing that the foyer was becoming rather packed.

"I understand you have three children Lilly" Jackie questioned the palace's latest guest as the group of people made their way into the sitting room and seated themselves of the various sofas and chairs within it.

"Yes, I have two girls and a boy. My youngest is Laura, she's twelve, then Nina is fourteen and my son is seventeen. We named him after his father, but Boris is a less accepted name in America than it is in Russia, so he is known by his second name, James" Lilly smiled as she spoke of her children.

"And they're all back in New York with your husband?" Jackie asked, innocently, but it hurt Lilly to remember that she'd left them all behind.

"Yes" she answered, with a fake smile on her face.

"Will they be coming over soon, Aunt Lilly?" Phillippe wanted to know and his aunt struggled to reply.

"Well..." Fortunately, right on queue, the baby in Mia's arms began to cry and scream.

"I think someone needs a nap" Michael smiled as Mia rose from her seat.

"Oh please Mia, let me take her for you. You must be tired and going up and down all those stairs can't be good for you" Lilly stood up too, desperate to vacate the room and leave the uncomfortable questioning behind.

"It's okay Lilly, I'm fine, really" Mia assured her.

"Please Mia" Lilly looked upon her friend with desperate eyes and Mia realised why the offer of help had been made.

"How about we both go" the Queen suggested and with a nod of agreement, Lilly followed her out of the room. She was glad to be away from awkward questions and alone with her best friend so she could talk to her about her problems, just like she used to when they were younger.

A/N : If you keep reviewing, then I will keep writing as fast as I can. I hope you're still enjoying this. I promise it will get more interesting in chapter 3, but I had to get all the introductions and stuff done first.


	3. The Explanation

A/N : The first thing I have to say is a big thanx for all the reviews. I was worried that the start of this story wasn't very good, but obviously I was wrong because you all seem to be enjoying it. Thanx to; princessvampire, swim6516, ndblue123, Cassandra Anthemyst, A Sorta Fairytale, Former Angel, Crazy Canuck, Starbright Moonlight, sapofbks2002, macdeniken, Maddy Nicola Snape, and the anonymous reviewer (btw, love the name you used ;) ).

I hope you all continue to read and enjoy (and review!) this story.

Here is the third chapter and we find out what's going on with Lilly and Boris...

Disclaimer : Characters belonging to Meg Cabot - Mia, Michael, Lilly, Boris, Lars

Characters belonging to Ultrawoman - Phillippe, Lilly Amelia, Jackie, Diana, Laura, Nina, James

"I'm sorry Phillippe was being awkward" Mia apologised as soon as she and Lilly reached the nursery.

"It's okay, he doesn't know" Lilly smiled, watching as her sister-in-law placed her name-sake into the crib. "Diana is a real sweetheart isn't she?" she commented.

"Yes, she is, but don't change the subject Lilly" Mia knew what her friend was trying to do "How did things get so bad with Boris?" she asked, as she sat down on a couch beside the crib. Lilly sat down beside her.

"I don't think there is any one reason why it got so bad" she sighed, "We just seemed to grow apart. I went back to work part time, working during school hours and being at home when the kids were there. It seemed to start then" she looked thoughtful as she explained what seemed to have gone wrong with her marriage, "I wasn't getting all the housework done and Boris started complaining about my having a job. He started to get mad a lot, which made me get mad too. He was working more hours and staying out of the house as much as he could. The kids got affected by it - they're not stupid, they knew that things weren't right between me and their father. Laura and Nina just got upset about the fighting, but James, he just started rebelling..."

"Rebelling?" Mia looked worried by the word.

"Yes, I don't know where he gets his attitude from" Lilly said, honestly, and Mia had to hold back a laugh. Any attitude that Lilly's son had, was undoubtedly something they had inherited from their mother. Lilly was a wonderful person, kind and caring and a good friend, but she had always had a problem with her temper and her attitude. Mia remembered only too well some of the fights they had as kids, but it was not the right time to bring up these thoughts and Lilly had not finished with what she was saying.

"He yells at his father a lot, at me sometimes, but mostly at Boris, on my behalf. He started getting into trouble at school, getting into fights and skipping class. You wouldn't know him Mia, he's changed so much, and I just can't control him anymore..." Lilly looked close to tears again but before Mia could answer her a light knock came at the door and a maid appeared.

"Excuse me Madame, but we have more visitors" the servant told the Queen in a hushed voice so as not to wake the, now sleeping, princess in the crib.

"Who is it, now?" Mia wanted to know.

"A Mr Pelkowski and his three children" the maid told her and Lilly looked genuinely scared,

"Oh my God, how did he know I'd be here Mia and why did he follow me? How did he get here so fast?" she panicked.

"I don't know Lilly. I can't answer any of your questions right now, but I'll go and find out, okay?" Mia said, standing up and walking over to the door where the servant waited patiently for further orders.

"I can't see him, Mia, not yet" Lilly continued to ramble.

"It's okay, Lil. I'll deal with it. Just stay here with baby Lilly, okay?" Mia tried desperately to keep her friend calm and it seemed to work.

"Okay, thankyou" she said and the Queen turned her attention back to the servant at the door.

"Take Mr Pelkowski and his children to the second sitting room, please, and then ask my husband to meet me in the main foyer"

"Yes, your majesty" the maid half curtseyed and left immediately.

"What are you going to say to him Mia?" Lilly wanted to know.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to have to tell him you're here but I won't let him up here to see you if you don't want me too. I'll just find out what's going on and then I'll come back" she smiled slightly and took a deep breath as she made for the door.

"Thankyou Mia, for everything" Lilly smiled too now.

"Hey, we're family, as well as friends, and I'll do anything I can to help my family" 

A/N : The next chapter will re-introduce Boris and the Pelkowski kids to the story and I hope to have it ready for posting in the next couple of days. In the mean time, please keep reviewing. I love to know that your still reading (and hopefully enjoying) what I am writing.


	4. The Pelkowskis

A/N : Here we are at chapter 4. Thanx for all the wonderful reviews on chapter 3; sapofbks2002, Cordelia Osbourne, macdeniken, Starbright Moonlight, Crazy Canuck, Cassandra Anthemyst, tetris, princessvampire, ndblue123, Angel and NutbarZ (who I'm assuming was 'i_luv_ultrawoman's_fanfics' last time?) - you lot are the best!

Now, lets meet the Pelkowski family...

Disclaimer : Meg Cabot's characters - Mia, Michael, Lars, Lilly, Boris

Ultrawoman's characters - James, Laura, Nina, Lilly Amelia, Jackie, Diana

"Boris is here?" Michael whispered to his wife as she told him the news. They stood in the main foyer of the palace. Next to them was the door leading to the main sitting room where Phillippe, Diana, Jackie and Lars still sat. Down the hall was Boris Pelkowski, their brother-in-law, and his three children, whilst upstairs were two important people with the name Lilly, their new baby daughter and their distraught sister.

"Yes, he's here and he brought the children" Mia explained to her husband, "I told Lilly we'd speak to him and find out what was going on. She's just no ready to see them yet"

"What are we going to say to them?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we should send the kids out of the room and just talk to Boris first. The children do not need to hear everything"

"Good idea" Michael agreed, as he took his wife's hand. "Let's go"

They entered the door to the room where the Pelkowski family, minus Lilly, were now situated. Boris sat on a large sofa on one side of the room with his two daughters, one either side of him. The two dark haired girls could have been twins if it were not for the two years age difference between them. They looked a lot like their mother and nothing like their father at all, and they both managed a smile when they saw their Aunt Mia and Uncle Michael.

"Boris, Laura, Nina, how are you all?" Mia smiled, not even noticing the fourth figure that stood by the window.

"You know how we are Mia" Boris snapped at the Queen, "Where's Lilly?"

"Don't take that tone Boris..." Michael warned and at that moment Mia noticed her nephew.

"James?" she enquired as the figure turned. A tall young man, much taller than either Mia or Michael remembered, was framed by the light from the window. His good looks were a mystery given that Boris, although not ugly, was far from conventionally attractive, and Lilly had always resembled more of a pug than anything else. 

James was different, different from the rest of his family in more than one way. His dark brown, almost black hair, was swept back off of his face and his blue eyes shone so bright it was blinding, but Michael knew something was missing. His nephew, as a child, had been the centre of attention. The cleverest child in his classes at school and one of the happiest too. Now there was a resentment and a pain inside him that shone out through those eyes that used to be so full of joy.

"Is Mom here or not?" he spat and Mia knew she should have been offended, but she wasn't. She understood that if his parents had been arguing so much that the boy was hurting. Seventeen was a tough age to be, caught between childhood and being an adult, add to that the strained marriage of his parents and it was understandable that James was hurting and he was quick to let out that hurt on other people.

"Yes, she's here" Mia answered him quickly, before Michael or Boris could attempt to scold the boy. "But she needs some time right now. In the meantime, your uncle and I would like to have a word with your father so I wondered if you would mind taking Nina and Laura and going into the next room" she tried to be reasonable and firm at the same time "Your cousin Phillippe is there with Lars and his wife and daughter. You can catch up on things whilst we talk to your Dad"

"Whatever" the young man sneered, "Come on you two" she said, glancing at his sisters, who both hugged their father before following their brother out of the room. Mia watched them leave. The rebellion in James that Lilly had spoken of was evident, not only from his manner but from the way he spoke, the way he walked and the way he dressed. 

Whilst Boris had arrived at the palace in a suit and the girls wore semi-formal dresses, James wore black jeans, a T-shirt and worn leather jacket. He was not a mess but he was not as smartly dressed as guests at the Genovian palace usually were. The Queen decided that her nephews clothes, his manners, even his attitude were far from the most important issue though. The most important issue concerned Lilly and Boris, not their son.

As the young people closed the door behind themselves, Mia and Michael pulled two chairs over to where Boris remained, and sat down.

"I'm sorry about James" their brother-in-law apologised, immediately, "I honestly don't know where that attitude comes from. He used to be such a nice boy"

"It's okay, Boris" Mia told him, "It doesn't matter"

"Maybe if we could sort out the problems you and Lilly are having, then James wouldn't be so...difficult" Michael tried.

"I know, I know" Boris put him head in his hands, "It's all such a mess!"

"It doesn't have to be" Mia told him, "We want to help you. You and Lilly are very important to us and we want you to be happy, and we're going to do everything we can to make that happen"

In all honesty, neither Michael or Mia knew what they could do to help, but they were going to try. Lilly and Boris were part of the family and as such they were two of the most important people in the lives of the Queen and Prince Consort of Genovia. Together, they hoped, rather than believed, that there was no problem they could not overcome.

A/N : I'll update again as soon as I can. In the meantime, reviews are welcomed and appreciated, so please press that button and tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	5. The Rebel

A/N : Hi everyone! Thanx for all the wonderful reviews on chapter 4; sapofbks2002, Crazy Canuck, Starbright Moonlight, Cassandra Anthemyst, swim6515, NutBarZ, princessvampire, ndblue123 - it's you lot who make me want to write!

So, for anyone who wanted to know more about James, keep reading!

Disclaimer : Meg Cabot's characters - Mia, Michael, Lars, Lilly, Boris. Ultrawoman's characters - Phillippe, James, Laura, Nina, Lilly Amelia, Jackie, Diana.

The doors to the main sitting room burst open and interrupted the embrace being enjoyed by Phillippe and Diana. Diana's parents had left the room shortly after Lilly, Mia and Michael, and so the two young people had taken the opportunity to enjoy themselves.

They both jumped back from each other as the doors swung open, panicked by the sudden noise and movement. The guy in the doorway smiled a suspicious smile, clearly guessing what had been going on prior to his arrival. 

"Hey Phil, what's going on?" James asked as if he didn't know.

"Jay, great to see you, I guessed you wouldn't be far behind your mother" Phillippe smiled, realising it was his cousin, and not a servant or one of his or Diana's parents, that had caught them doing, what they were doing, but still ignoring the question he'd been asked.

The two young men shook hands and Phillippe caught sight of his other two cousins behind James.

"Laura, Nina, come in and sit down" the two girls did as they were told, both giving there older cousin a bright smile. They were pleased to see Phillippe as they always were, but now they liked him infinitely more than they did before. 

James, their brother, had been their favourite person in the world. He'd looked after them and always been there for them but lately, since their parents had started arguing, James had changed and Laura and Nina had started to realise they definitely preferred their cousin to their rebellious and often nasty older brother.

Diana smiled at the two girls who came and sat on the sofa beside her.

"Diana, this is Nina and Laura. They're the daughters of my Aunt Lilly and Uncle Boris. Girls, Diana is my fiancee"

The three girls greeted each other and then Diana's attention went straight back to James. Her eyes had locked on him as soon as the doors had opened and apart from her brief glance at the girls next to her, Diana had kept her gaze on Phillippe's male cousin the whole time.

"And this is James" Phillippe pointed to the young man next to him.

"Call me Jay, everybody else does" James smiled and extended his hand in Diana's direction. She got up and reached her own hand out to meet his. As soon as her hand was in reach, James took hold of it, raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, before letting go.

Diana blushed a deep red and Phillippe looked uneasy about the whole thing.

"Diana is my fiancée" the young prince pointed out, again, but James's gaze did not move from the blonde girl in front of him.

"Fiancée?" he echoed, "You're a lucky guy, Phil"

Diana went even more red, if it were possible. Here was a guy, probably the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen, and he was saying her fiancé was lucky to be with her. There was no way of knowing that Phillippe and Jay were related. They looked nothing alike. They were both tall with dark hair, but that was where the similarity ended.

Phillippe was good looking, almost an exact replica of his father, although obviously younger and taller, with green eyes and dark hair and a smile that could melt your heart. He looked smart in the suit he wore, but standing next to Jay, well, he suffered by comparison.

Jay was gorgeous, in a different way. He was more relaxed than his cousin and when he smiled he looked especially sexy. He had blue eyes that were so bright they were almost blinding and seemed to hold so many feelings.

Diana suddenly realised that whilst she stood, staring, thinking about the many attributes the two young men in front of her possessed, the conversation had moved on without her.

"So what's with the new look?" Phillippe asked, noticing his cousins clothes were not as smart as they had been on his past visits.

"Thought it suited the new personality better" he grinned, "I got sick of being the good little boy. Trust me, Phillippe, doing what you want to do is much more satisfying than doing what's expected of you. Give me rebellion over compliance any day"

Phillippe looked unimpressed.

"What are you rebelling against?" he was interested to know.

"Everything" Jay said seriously, "but my father mostly. I hate the way he treats my Mom. The only reason we're here is because Mom couldn't stand to be around him anymore. Only I realised that he wasn't the only screwed up idiot on the planet. There's a lot of them Phil, a lot of control freaks in the world who are just out to get you. Teachers at school get their kicks out of telling kids what to do. I don't stand for it anymore because I don't see why I should" he explained, wandering over to a nearby chair and sitting down.

"So you act like this to get at your Dad and your teachers?" Phillippe struggled to understand his cousins flawed logic.

"Yeah, them and anyone else who thinks they can control me" Jay put his feet up on the coffee table, "Why? You got a problem with that?"

Phillippe had no answer to that. He did have a problem with that, more than one problem, and not just with Jay's attitude either. He didn't like the way he acted, the way he looked at Diana, the way he insulted his family. It seemed as if his cousin, James, had changed so much, he was barely recognisable, personality-wise, as the same person. The young prince didn't see the point in starting a fight about it now though. If Aunt Lilly and Uncle Boris were having problems, Phillippe didn't want to make matters worse by arguing with their son. Besides, if Lilly and Boris could sort out their problems, maybe Jay would change again and be more like his old self. At least, Phillippe hoped that was what would happen, before too much trouble was caused by his rebel of a cousin.

A/N : Hope you enjoyed that. More about Lilly & Boris (and James) coming soon. In the meantime, please review and I will keep writing as fast as I can. 


	6. The Truth About Jay

A/N : Let's start with the thankyous - thanx to my wonderful reviewers; tetris, Azkaban Canuck, Cordelia Osbourne, macdeniken, Starbright Moonlight, ndblue123, XxArEULoStxX, but I'm not going to tell any of you what's going to happen next! You'll just have to keep reading to find out ;)

Now, here is chapter 6, and we find out more about why Lilly and Boris are fighting.....

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

"Boris, please talk to us" Mia pleaded, "We're your family and we just want to help you"

"It's not that simple" the man told her, but Michael was determined.

"It can be that simple" he said, simply, "I know you and my sister were made for each other and you were happy together for so long. What changed?"

"I did something, or rather I accused her of doing something and I think I may have been wrong..." Boris trailed off and put his head in hands.

Michael glanced at Mia with a look that said 'Guy talk - could you give us a minute?' Mia understood and nodded her head.

"I'm going to go and check on the baby" she said, quietly, standing up and walking toward the door. She turned back as she left, to smile slightly at her husband. He gave a small smile back. They understood each other perfectly. Michael would get what information he could from Boris whilst Mia did the same with Lilly. That should make everything easier.

As soon as Mia was gone, Michael began his interrogation on Boris.

"It's just us now, Boris, so you can tell me what happened. I promise I'm not going to get mad or upset about anything, I just want to know the truth. Why is Lilly upset? What started all this?"

Boris lifted his head to look at his brother-in-law.

"It's James" he said quietly, "I accused Lilly...I..."

"You, what?"

"I said I didn't think James was my son!" the man finally admitted. Michael looked shocked, but he did not say a word. He just rose from his seat and walked over to the window in silence.

"Who is it?" Lily asked as a tap came on the door.

"It's me, Lil" Mia said, as she opened the door and came into the room. "Michael is talking to Boris. He thinks it might be easier if it's just the men" she smiled a small smile and sat down next to her friend. "Lilly, tell me how all this started. There has to be a reason. I refuse to believe that you just stopped loving each other..."

"I never stopped loving him!" Lilly answered quickly, "I still love him as much now as I ever did"

"Then please, Lilly, tell me what really happened"

"Lies, Mia" she laughed humourlessly, "The one thing that will ruin any relationship is lies" Realising her answer had only served to further confuse her friend and, not wanting to destroy the relationship she had with her sister-in-law and best friend, Lilly admitted defeat and told the whole story.

"It started about six months ago. I went back to work, like I said, so I was out of the house for several hours a day. Boris came home early one day, before I got home and he was looking for something in the closet in our room. He found a box of photographs and he was looking at them when I came home. All my photos were in that box. Old pictures from school, of you and me and Michael and Boris and new pictures of the kids and others that spanned all the time in between..." she trailed off.

"Go on" Mia urged.

"When I came home, I found him in our room surrounded by all these pictures. He was almost in tears and I couldn't understand why. When I asked him what was wrong, he just pushed a handful of photos at me and stormed out..." her voice cracked and a tear fell down her face. "The pictures he'd handed me were from about eighteen years ago" she explained, reaching into her bag next to her and pulling out the objects she spoke of. She handed the pile of five pictures to Mia who looked at them carefully, her eyes wide. Every picture was of Lilly and a young man, two pictures of them standing with their arms around each other and two pictures of them sitting together, smiling.

"Who is this?" Mia asked with a shaky voice as she pointed to the man in the photographs.

"As far as Boris is concerned, that's Jay's father" she sobbed.

"And is it?" Mia wasn't sure she wanted to know but she knew she had to ask, "Is this guy your son's father?"

Lilly was silent.

A/N : I know, I know, I'm an awful person for leaving it on a cliffhanger but I want to keep you interested! ;) Anyway, please review and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.


	7. The Revelation

A/N : Thanx to all those who reviewed; Starbright Moonlight, bowlfulofwisdom, macdeniken, KrystinePotterLover, Azkaban Canuck, XxArEULoStxX, ndblue123, Slytherin Chick, MeLLoDraMatic. Glad to have two of my faithful reviewers back (KrystinePotterLover and Slytherin Chick), glad you're anjoying the story and thanx for the reviews on every chapter.

Sorry about the cliffhangers, I know they drie you all crazy but they keep you reading don't they? ;)

Now, it's time to find out - is Boris really James's father?

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

"Lilly, tell me. Is this guy James's father?" Mia needed to know the truth.

"I could never cheat on Boris I love him too much. James is his son. There's never been anyone else who...no-one else could be his father" Lilly tried to explain and Mia knew what she meant. Boris was the only man who could be James's father, in the same way that Phillippe and baby Lily's father could only be Michael.

"Lilly, if Boris is James's father why don't you just tell him" Mia couldn't understand her friends behaviour.

"Mia, I can't" tears came to Lilly's eyes.

"Why not? If you and this guy never did anything you shouldn't" Mia pushed the point but soon wished she hadn't when her friend began to sob. "What is it Lil?"

"It wasn't an affair Mia, you have to believe me, but..." tears took away her breath and any more words she had to say.

"But? What was it?" Mia had to know the truth.

"His name was Tony" Lilly explained, desperately fighting back further tears, "I met him at work and he asked me out to dinner. We were just friends and we went out a few times, sometimes on our own, sometimes with other people from work. We got closer and one night he told me he loved me, that he wanted to marry me. He knew I was already married but he said he couldn't live without me"

"But you stayed with Boris" her friend didn't understand.

"Only just. I thought about it Mia, I actually considered leaving my husband for this guy. How can I tell Boris the truth, it would kill him to think that I almost left him!" Mia blinked in shock. Lilly almost left Boris? It was almost unbelievable, but that didn't matter now. The point was the truth had to be told if the marriage was to be saved.

"Right now he thinks you were having an affair. If you tell him the truth at least he'll know that James is his son and also that you never betrayed him. When it came to the crunch, you chose Boris"

"You really think he's going to understand?" Lilly sniffed.

"You won't know until you talk to him. Besides, if you don't tell him, things can never get better. At least you have a chance of saving your marriage and your family if you do tell him" the Queen reasoned, and the baby stirred in the cot beside her.

"Thankyou Mia, I don't know what I would do without you" the older Lilly hugged her friend.

"Well, lucky for you, you will never have to do without me", Mia smiled, "because I'm always going to be here for you, like you're always here for me"

"I'm always going to be here for this little one too" Lilly smiled, looking down on the child in the crib, "Lord knows what kind of men problems she's going to have in the future. She's going need all the help she can get from her Mom and her Aunt" she laughed, softly.

"Now, go and talk to Boris before it's too late" Mia urged her friend with a smile.

"Thanks Mia, I will"

"You don't seriously think Lilly would..." Michael couldn't even bring himself to think the words, never mind say them. He had never been best friends with his sister but he thought he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't do something like that.

"I don't know anymore" Boris sighed, "I don't want to believe it but...I found these pictures of Lilly and this guy she knew at work. They were close and I knew they were friends, but it seemed like....oh, I don't know" Boris was close to tears with sadness and frustration.

"When you accused her, did she deny it?" Michael was curious to know.

"No, but she didn't say it was true either"

"Then you have to talk to her Boris, you have to sort this out once and for all, before you destroy your entire family because of a suspicion" Michael surprised himself at how sensible he sounded. In fact, he realised he'd said just the sort of thing that Mia would say.

Before his brother-in-law could answer, the door swung open and Lilly was framed in the open doorway.

"Lilly" Boris gasped.

"Boris, we need to talk" she said, seriously, "and we need to do it now"

A/N : Can Lilly and Boris fix their marriage? Find out in chapter 8 - coming soon! 

In the meantime, please keep reviewing!


	8. The Explanation

A/N : Hey everybody! Thanx so much to all my reviewers; ndblue123, cordelia osbourne, Azkaban Canuck (the focus is shifting over to the kids very soon), KrystinePotterLover, Cassandra Anthemyst (sorry you've internet trouble - glad you're back), Lexi, macdeniken - you've really spurred me on to write faster!

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Enjoy! 

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

"I'll go" Michael said immediately, "and leave you two alone to talk"

"No, Michael," Lilly turned to her brother, "please stay. I want you to hear this too"

"Okay" Michael agreed and went back to his seat near Boris.

Lilly sat down next to her husband and took a deep breath before starting her explanation.

"Boris, I want to explain what happened with Tony..."

"Lilly, I..." he tried to interrupt, but his wife was not the kind of woman you could interrupt easily.

"No, Boris, let me say this, please! I knew Tony from work and we went out a few times. Sometimes there were lots of other people there too, but sometimes we went 

out alone"

She could see tears in his eyes but she had to carry on. She took the pictures from her bag again and showed them to Michael. As he studied the photos Lilly continued her explanation.

"It wasn't really like dating and it certainly wasn't an affair, we just enjoyed each others company. Then one day, I found out he felt more for me than I did for him. He loved me and he wanted me to go away with him. I couldn't do that, I could never do that..." Tears took away the rest of Lilly's words for a moment and Michael took her silence as an opportunity to speak.

"So this guy in the pictures, Tony, this is the guy you thought was Jay's father?" he asked Boris.

All his brother-in-law could do was nod. He was ashamed that he had not trusted his wife and relieved that the truth had finally been told.

"Boris, I don't blame you for doubting me, I can see why it looked suspicious" Lilly said, finally overcoming her latest bout of sobs, "but I could never do that to you. You are the only one who....who could ever be the father of my any children" she explained, before bursting into further tears.

"I'm sorry" they said together, and, with a tearful laugh, they went into each others arms.

Michael just smiled, happy that his sister and his friend had been able to sort out their problems. When they moved from hugging to kissing, however, he took it as his queue to leave the room and go and tell Mia the news.

"Oh, I'm so glad that's sorted out" Mia sighed, "They had me worried for a while there"

"Me too" Michael agreed. "We should celebrate, seeing as everyone is here" he exclaimed, suddenly "You haven't been out of the palace much since little Lilly was born and since Lilly and Boris are here, and back together now, it would be the perfect night to go out"

"Yeah, y'know that is a good idea" Mia agreed, kissing her husband on the cheek.

"Lars will have to come of course, so how about we invite Jackie too? I mean they are practically family" Michael pointed out.

"Of course, they should both come" the Queen agreed, "but what about the kids?"

"There are plenty of servants here to make sure Diana and Lilly's kids don't get into trouble and the nanny can look after the baby. It would only be for a few hours and well, Phillippe is nineteen and an adult now so really he should come with us..." Michael was determined they were going out tonight.

"Yes, yes, let's go. You, me, Lilly, Boris, Lars, Jackie and Phillippe" Mia smiled, quite excited by the idea now.

A tap at the door took their attention and they turned to see Diana enter the room.

"Hi, I was just looking for my Mom, I didn't mean to interrupt" the girl smiled.

"Oh, I think she's upstairs, but would you do me a favour Diana" Mia smiled too, "Could you sit and rock the baby for a while, just until she falls asleep again. Michael and I need to go..."

Before Mia had even finished her explanation, Diana interrupted.

"Of course I'll do it" she grinned, "I love children and Princess Lilly is so sweet"

Michael and Mia smiled at each other, and knowing they were leaving their daughter in safe hands, they made their way downstairs to find their brother and sister.

A/N : Sorry this was quite short but I'm working on the next chapter which I think will be much longer - you'll have to wait and see what that is about. In the meantime, please review and I will get chapter 9 finished and posted very soon.


	9. The Mistake

A/N : I can't believe I got seven reviews in less than two days! Thanx to all of you who reviewed. 

To Slytherin Chick & Azkaban Canuck & Cassandra Anthemyst (& the anonymous reviewer) - you'll have to keep reading to find out what will happen!

To BowlfulOfWisdom - sorry, no Lars/Jackie stuff in this chapter but there should be some later in the story.

To KrystinePotterLover & ndblue123 - hope you continue to like the story.

I hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story. I think this is the longest chapter I have written in a long time so I hope you like it, I certainly enjoyed writing it!

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

"Hey, Diana" Phillippe called to his fiancée.

"Sshh" she scolded, closing the door carefully behind her, "Your sister has just fallen asleep"

"Oh, sorry" he grinned, "Good news though, Aunt Lilly and Uncle Boris are back together"

"That's great" she smiled back at him, "I know how much they mean to you"

"Well, we're going out to celebrate, so I have to go and get changed. You'll be okay here with my cousins and the baby, right?"

"Er, yeah" Diana was disappointed but determined not to show it. She was not invited. It hadn't even occurred to Phillippe that she might actually have wanted to go. As much as she tried to smile, Phillippe saw the sudden sadness on her face.

"It's kind of a family thing, y'know?" he tried to make her feel better about it, but she felt like she was part of the family, and this only went to prove how unconnected she really was to the Genovian Royal Family.

"Of course, your parents are coming, because Lars has to come anyway and my Mom couldn't not invite your Mom, y'know what those two can be like together..."

'Even my parents were invited and I wasn't?' Diana thought to herself, 'Don't I feel special?' her silent sarcasm would have loved to escape but luckily the young prince had quickly kissed her cheek, said 'see you later' and disappeared into his bedroom before she had a chance to start an argument.

Diana inwardly screamed 'what about me?!' and probably would have done it for real if it wasn't for the baby asleep in the next room. Instead, she stormed through the nearest living room door and slumped down on the sofa.

"I swear sometimes, I am invisible!" she said to herself, putting her heads in her hands in frustration.

"Hey, Di, where's the boyfriend?" a voice called from the open door. She looked up slightly and in her anger, snarled at the young man she saw there.

"Get lost, jerk!"

"Woah, harsh words from a future princess!" James wandered into the room, with a grin on his face, and his hands up, in mock surrender, 

"I'm sorry," Diana sighed as her fiancés cousin sat down next to her, "It's just, it's like everyone has a life to live and a reason for being here and then there's me, just stuck in the middle of it all"

"I know what you mean" James sighed.

"How can you?" she asked, not even looking at him.

"Why do you think my parents fight all the time?" he answered with a question of his own, and she looked up at him, with an expression that said she didn't understand. "It's all because of me" he shook his head as he told her.

"How is it your fault?" she was curious now.

"I don't know" he lied, and turned to gaze out of the window, "I just get the feeling that life would be better for everyone if I wasn't around"

"Yeah," She wasn't sure if she really knew what he meant but she at least wanted Jay to think she did. He just didn't seem as confident as he had earlier and Diana doubted he would tell just anyone how he was really feeling.

"I don't think anyone would even notice if I wasn't around" Diana told him. 

"I would" he answered immediately, without actually turning to look at her.

"You would?" she laughed, humourlessly, "You don't even know me!"

"I know enough to know that, no matter what anyone else does or doesn't think, you are a special person, Diana" he turned around quickly as he spoke, "You're beautiful, you seem intelligent and sweet and...well,..." realising he might have said too much he continued more carefully "everyone's life matters - except mine" he added bitterly, "If I dropped off the planet tomorrow, no-one would care"

"Oh come on, your parents would care and your sisters and the rest of your family and your friends..." Diana tried to convince him, but he just laughed, sadly.

"I don't have friends, not real ones"

"What about a girlfriend?" she asked him, not daring to look him in the eye when she did so, "You must have one of those"

"Not really" he shrugged, then a devilish grin appeared on his face "Why were you so certain I would have?"

"I don't know, just because, well..." Diana rambled, uncomfortably.

"Are you telling me engaged girls notice guys other than their fiancés?" he smiled sarcastically but she was not impressed.

"You are impossible to talk to!" she yelled, getting up and turning towards the door.

"Oh, come on, Diana. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he said genuinely, grabbing her arm as she turned to leave.

"You're not the only one with problems, Jay" she said, turning back, but trying not to look at him. Her eyes focused on his hand on her arm and she was pretty sure that's where his gaze was fixed too.

"I know that, and like I said, I'm sorry" he said, quietly, finally releasing her arm,

"Then, let's just change the subject, okay?" she half smiled and sat down again, and he copied.

"It's a deal. So how did you end up with my cousin anyway?" James was curious to know.

"Well my father is Lars, Mia's bodyguard" Diana explained, "so when I came over here to meet my Dad, I met Mia and Michael and Phillippe too"

"That doesn't explain why you're engaged to the guy" James wasn't satisfied.

"He was there for me when I needed someone, and he was a good friend and..." the girl struggled with further explanation.

"And...?" James wanted more of an answer than that, "You thought he was good looking?" he asked, which was obviously a loaded question.

"Well,..." he was making her nervous now.

"Does that mean no?" James tipped his head to make eye contact with her but she refused to look up at him, her eyes fixed on her hands in her lap.

"I love him, okay" she said abruptly, starting to get annoyed again.

"That's not what I asked" he pointed out.

"Well, not everyone can be as gorgeous as you!" she yelled and stood up in exasperation and immediately regretted what she'd said. She kept her back to him as he spoke to her.

"Where did that come from?" James wasn't sure how to react to that. He didn't mind hearing it but it was a little unexpected.

"I didn't mean it the way it came out..." Diana tried to cover, but it was too late.

"Oh I think you did" James smiled a little too much and reached out for her hand. "Come on, Diana, I'm not blind. I saw the way you looked at me earlier. You know you are wasted on a guy like Phil"

"I told you, I love him" she spun round, yanking her hand from his grasp.

"Have you ever dated anyone else?" he was curious to know, almost positive her answer would be no. 

"Well,..." she paused too long and he knew immediately what that meant.

"I'll take that as another no"

"That doesn't mean I don't love him!" she said almost in tears.

"Oh, would you stop!" James stood up again and took Diana by the shoulders, "Who are you trying to convince?" he spoke more quietly now, bending down to her level, "Me or yourself?"

"I, well,..." Diana was suffering from severe loss of speech, and a distinct lack of brain power, due to the closeness of his face to her own.

"Diana, you're beautiful girl. You don't have to settle for anything better than the best, and believe me, I can show you the time of your life..." he almost whispered his words as he lent down and covered her lips with his.

She didn't pull away, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid his own around her waist.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

A screaming voice forced them to break apart suddenly, and they both turned to see, a shocked and appalled, Nina Pelkowski, in the doorway

A/N : Please don't hate me! If you know anything about me and my fics you will know that if a problem gets caused in a story it usually gets solved eventually. Please review so I know what you think (although I'm sure that I really want to know what you think after what I have done, lol) and I will update very soon (if you still want me too!)


	10. The Other Guy

A/N : I kind of guessed what the reaction was going to be to chapter 9 and I was right. All I want to say is that, if you've been reading this series of stories from the beginning, then you will know that no matter how much trouble gets caused it usually gets sorted out eventually. 

Thanx to everyone who reviewed; Cassandra Anthemyst, Cordelia Osbourne, Slytherin Chick, Azkaban Canuck, MeLLoDraMatic, A Sorta Fairytale, another teenage drone, XxArEULoStxX, Lexi, NutBarZ, Starbright Moonlight, ndblue123, KrystinePotterLover (sorry if it was all too dramatic for you. Btw, Footloose is one of my favourite musicals!) - you lot are the reason that I love to write! :)

Now, on with the story...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

"James Boris Pelkowski, what the hell are you doing?!" Nina shrieked at her brother, who quickly moved away from Diana and ran one hand through his hair, uncomfortably. Diana just stood in stunned silence, for a moment, at what had just happened, and then bolted from the room, pushing past Nina as she went.

"Did you have to walk in right at that moment?" James turned to his sister in annoyance.

"It's a good job I did or God only knows what might have happened" 

At the age of fourteen, Nina Pelkowski knew the ways of the world. Her mother had told her everything about everything as soon as she was old enough to understand it. Lilly had been quite determined that her children would be properly educated not only in school, but in the way the world worked, and that meant that everything she knew about the opposite sex had been passed on to both Nina and Laura before either were ten years old.

"Nina, we were just kissing, don't over do the dramatics" James sighed.

"Just kissing?" Nina waved her arms for emphasis, "The girl you were 'just kissing' happens to be Phillippe's fiancée!"

"Oh thanks for telling me, I hadn't noticed" James's sarcasm returned with a vengeance.

"Jay, this isn't a joke" his sister was clearly very annoyed, "Or is it?" she said, remembering her brothers reason for existence recently - to generally ruin everyone's life, because he felt his had been ruined for him. 

"Are you deliberately trying to hurt people?"

"No!" James shouted, "Y'know I respect Phil, he's a decent guy....sometimes maybe too decent" he mumbled, "but I wouldn't deliberately screw him over, you know that"

"Then why do this?" Nina didn't understand her brother. She used to, she used to know him and understand him, but not lately. He'd changed so much, he was like a different person.

"I don't know" James admitted with exasperation, "We were talking and Diana....she's a beautiful girl and she's good to talk to and we seemed to have stuff in common...she was upset about something and she said she liked me and....I don't know it just happened!" 

He slumped back onto the sofa and his sister came and sat beside him.

"Jay, what happened to you? Ever since Mom and Dad started fighting you've changed so much and now this happens..."

"I never set out to hurt people y'know. Not really" he interrupted her.

"Then what's it all about" the girl could not understand.

"I don't fit in, Nina, you know I don't" he said sadly.

"Of course you do" she assured him, "Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in, but then I realise that I'm part of a family who loves me and we do all fit in somewhere"

"Nina, you don't understand" James said with exasperation, "I'm the reason Mom and Dad fight, it's all because of me..." he trailed off, realising he'd probably said too much and having no idea that the problem had been resolved without his knowledge.

"Are you going to explain what you meant by that?" she wanted to know.

"I shouldn't tell you..." he said, quickly getting up and making for the door.

"Jay, come on, I'm your sister and I just want to help..." Nina begged for an explanation and he turned back to cut her off mid-sentence.

"That's the point, you might not be my sister"

She looked shocked and he quickly explained. 

"I heard Mom and Dad when they were arguing one time. You and Laura were asleep, but I couldn't sleep, not when I knew they were having one of their 'talks'. I overheard them talking about me, and Mom, and this other guy. The point is, Nina, this other guy could be my father" 

The young girl looked dumbfounded by the revelation and James half wished he hadn't told her so much, but it was too late now. 

"So, what are you telling me?" she shook her head in the hope her confusion would clear, but it didn't.

"What I'm telling you is, I might not be your brother, or Dad's son, or a Pelkowski, at all" he concluded.

A/N : Please review and I'll post again soon.


	11. The Morning After The Night Before

A/N : Wow, thanx for the great response to the last chapter. I am always so happy when I see that I have so many reviews. Thanx to; macdeniken, BowlfulOfWisdom (you'll have to keep reading to find the answers to your questions!), Starbright Moonlight (I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be yet, but I have planned up to sixteen already...) XxArEULoStxX, Cassandra Anthemyst, MeLLoDraMatic, Azkaban Canuck, KrystinePotterLover, ndblue123, sophster - I'm glad you're all still enjoying the story.

Well, here is the next part, trying to understand why Diana and James did what they did...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 11 - The Morning After The Night Before

Diana didn't want to leave her room ever again. How could she face Phillippe or anybody else after what had happened with Jay? It had been a stupid situation really. Obviously Jay was attractive but she was engaged, engaged to the Prince Of Genovia. That was many girls dream and it was reality for her, but not necessarily for long. What would Phillippe say when he found out his fiancée had been kissing his cousin? Diana knew he would find out, whether she told him herself or not. Jay could tell him, or Nina, and even if they didn't actually tell Phillippe they could tell someone else who would.

What worried Diana most of all was not that Phillippe would find out, but that she wasn't even sure if she wanted to apologise for it. She was sorry that Phillippe would be hurt by her betrayal but if she was honest, this whole thing had served a purpose. What had happened between Diana and Jay had only gone to prove to her that she wasn't ready to be engaged, never mind married, to Phillippe or to anyone. She thought she was in love but was she?

Diana decided that she was going to have to tell someone about what had happened. If nothing else she needed help to decide what to do about now. The best person she could think of to ask was her mother, Jackie. No doubt she would understand, she always seemed to. 

In a strange bed, in a strange house, in a strange country, James Pelkowski lay staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't slept all night for more than one reason. Worry, fear, sadness, and a hundred other emotions kept his eyes open and his mind active. 

Life had been simple for Jay, in fact, life had been fairly good. He had decent parents, two younger sisters who adored him, basically a whole family who loved him. He had enough money, a good home, he was fairly intelligent and all in all he had been happy with his life. Then the trouble started. His parents started fighting and his near perfect life started to fall apart when he realised it was him they were fighting over. His father, Boris, might not be his father at all. He didn't tell anyone that he knew about it. He just started rebelling against his Dad, against his school, against his life in general. It was Jay's way of coping with it and it worked well for him, until the day he came to Genovia.

When Jay first laid eyes on Diana he liked her, and he was willing to admit he was jealous of his cousin for having such a beautiful girlfriend, who loved him. The girls that Jay knew, the girls that liked him and professed to love him, they were not like Diana. Sure, some of them were attractive, but usually they were completely shallow and only liked him for his looks or even occasionally because they knew he was related to European royalty. No one loved the real Jay because no one really knew him and no one understood him. Except Diana.

It had seemed like she understood how he was feeling and he felt that he understood her too, even though they had only just met. It was easy to talk to her, to be close to her, and too much of a temptation to resist kissing her. The only thing he truly regretted about it all was the pain he may have caused to Diana and Phillippe.

Normally, if Jay caused trouble, he loved it. He was in pain, why shouldn't everyone else feel the same? But the thought that he might have hurt Diana, it was strange, but that made him feel terribly guilty. It bothered him that he might have damaged the life of his cousin Phillippe too. He was a good guy when all was said and done, and he did not deserve to get hurt. When he found out what had happened, which he invariably would, he was going to be upset, more than upset, probably distraught. Jay didn't even want to think about it.

Jay had another problem. Nina Pelkowski now knew that her brother may only be her half-brother, same mother, different father. Jay didn't know how the young girl would cope with the news or who she might tell. She had bolted from the room almost as soon as he had told her, only stopping long enough to tell Jay what she had originally come to say, that Lilly and Boris were back together and happy. That was a comfort at least, but the question of who his real father was remained unanswered. Jay didn't go after his sister, when she ran, he didn't see the point. Instead he had gone to the bedroom where he was to stay and laid down on the bed to think and to eventually sleep. 

Unfortunately, sleep never came. He had too many intense thoughts and emotions whirling around inside, and by morning, Jay had realised that, although his worries about Diana and Phillippe were justified, there was a possibility that his worries about his parents were unnecessary. It was about time he found out the truth, once and for all. Today he would finally ask his mother for the truth about himself.

After that problem was solved, well, then he would face the other. The fact that he had kissed Diana was a terrible thing in itself, and he would have to face it as well as face his cousin and the rest of the family, but what was going to be even harder to face would be the fact that, James Pelkowski was completely in love with his cousins fiancée.

A/N : Please remember to review and I'll update soon!


	12. The Parental Guidance

A/N : To; Mellodramatic, ndblue123, Cordelia Osbourne, Azkaban Canuck, Cassandra Anthemyst, Starbright Moonlight, macdeniken, A Sorta Fairytale, XxArEULoStxX, Slytherin Chick - thanx for all the wonderful reviews! Phillippe will be back in chapter 13 so that should make for an interesting chapter (I hope!), but in the meantime, what will Jackie and Lilly say when they find out what happened between Diana and Jay?

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 12 - The Parental Guidance

"Diana?" Jackie called softly to her daughter as she tapped on the bedroom door, "Are you okay, honey?"

There was no answer, but Jackie was sure Diana was in the room. She opened the door slightly and peered in. Diana was sitting on the wide ledge of the window looking out over the hills of the Genovian countryside, with her back to the door.

"Diana, what's going on?" her mother asked, coming into the room now and walking up behind the girl in the window.

"Nothing, I'm fine" she lied.

"You don't seem fine" Jackie pointed out, sitting down on the ledge next to her daughter. When Diana finally turned around, Jackie saw the tear stains on her face.

"Oh sweetheart, what is the matter?" Jackie sighed as Diana went into her mothers arms.

"Mom, I've done something stupid"

"Oh come on, it can't be all that bad" Jackie rocked her daughter to try and stop her crying but it did no good. 

"I don't,...I think,...I..." Diana's words were jumbled and interrupted by sobs.

"Okay, okay, just calm down" her mother told her and after a few minutes, Diana's body stopped convulsing and the tears subsided.

"Now," Jackie took her arms from around her daughter and looked her in the eye, "tell me exactly what happened"

"Well, it was last night when you and Dad had gone out with Mia and Michael and the Pelkowskis....."

"Mom, I need to talk to you" Jay told his mother as he walked into the sitting room where Lilly sat, cradling her name sake in her arms.

"Okay" Lilly answered, "come and sit down"

Jay moved across the room and sat down next to her.

"I'm just looking after your cousin here, for a while" she smiled, "Your Aunt and Uncle have an event to attend this afternoon and we got in late last night so they're having a lie in this morning"

Jay looked at the baby his mother held.

"She's gorgeous" he admitted with a smile. Lilly was slightly surprised by his reaction to the child. It had been a long time since she had heard him say anything complimentary about anyone.

"Yes, she is" Lilly agreed, before turning to face her son properly, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Uncle Michael and Aunt Mia are the baby's parents, but Phillippe thought his Dad was another guy called Kenny, right?"

"Yes, that's because Mia had to marry someone and your Uncle Michael was scared about being a prince. They were only young when Mia got pregnant" Lilly explained, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Well, it must have been pretty rough on Phil, finding out that his Dad wasn't his Dad, that his father was really some guy he'd never met..." he left the sentence hanging to see what his mothers reaction would be.

"Jay, is this conversation going somewhere?" Lilly asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Mom, I need to know the truth. Is Dad, Boris, is he my real father?"

Lilly glanced away from her son and back down at the baby in her arms. There was silence for a moment and then she spoke softly.

"From the day I realised I was pregnant to the day I held you in my arms like I hold this little girl now, and from then until now, as we sit here today, , I knew, the whole time that your father could be no-one but Boris Pelkowski" tears formed in her eyes as she finished her sentence.

Jay sighed a relieved sigh, but was still curious.

"Then why were you guys fighting about it?" 

"Sometimes, it's hard to explain things to people, especially the people we love. One day, when you're older, you will understand that James" his mother sniffed, desperate not to cry.

There was silence for a few moments before Jay made a confession.

"Mom, I don't need to be older to understand. I'm going to have to tell Phillippe and everyone the truth" he said, suddenly leaping from the sofa and making for the door.

"The truth about what?" Lilly did not understand.

"Mom, last night I..., well, that's not really important, the point is...I'm in love with Diana"

Lilly could only sit and stare as James disappeared through the door. He was in love with Diana? How was that possible when he barely knew her? What was Phillippe going to say? And what, if anything, could be done to help?

A/N : I know that probably wasn't very interesting but I think it needed writing. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon, so please keep reviewing!


	13. The Triangle

A/N : Okay, before we get to the story, I'd just like to say something to ShoppingLiz who reviewed chapter 12. I would have done this in an email but you do not have an email address in your profile so I am going to do it here. I consider what I write to be fanfiction because I am a fan of the Princess Diaries and I am writing fiction based on the characters and concepts from these books. This is part of a series of stories and the first story, and even the second, were based much more on the main characters. Now I have reached the fourth story it is necessary to have new characters. I have seen many other stories on this site based on the main character's children and relatives as well as the main characters and that is all I am doing in my story. Thankyou for you compliments, I do appreciate them, but I have not seen any description of the term fanfiction that would make my story appear to be non-fanfic. If the people who read the story like it, and the people who run the site have no problem with it being in the fanfic section then I am happy.

Now that's done, I want to thank my regular reviewers for all their comments; Cordelia Osborne, KrystinePotterLover, macdeniken, A Sorta Fairytale, ndblue123, mellodramatic, XxArEULoStxX, Slytherin Chick, Azkaban Canuck - you lot are what keep me writing!

Here's the next chapter, and Jay does the decent thing and tells Phillippe the truth.....

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 13 - The Triangle

"Phil, I've been looking for you all over the place" Jay said as he approached his cousin in a hallway of the palace.

"Well, you found me" Phillippe smiled, "What's up, Jay?" he asked, noticing a slight nervousness about his cousin.

"Okay, this isn't easy for me to say and it's not going to be easy for you to hear either" Jay began to ramble, never once making eye contact with Phillippe "but despite some of my recent behaviour I do know that honesty and truth are important..."

"Get to the point, Jay" Phillippe wasn't sure what was coming but the longer his cousin rambled the more worried he became.

"Phillippe, last night, well, me and Diana, we kind of kissed" Jay finally admitted.

"You 'kind of' kissed?" Phillippe tried to keep his temper hidden.

"Okay, we did kiss but it's honestly not the way it sounds" the usually more confident guy, quickly explained.

"You better hope for your sake that it's not how it sounds..." Phillippe's anger was rising and was evident in his voice now.

"Phil, this was not just me trying to screw up your engagement or cause trouble" Jay assured him, "I swear to you, it happened because...., because I'm in love with Diana"

"In love with her? You only met her yesterday!" it was obvious Phillippe was finding all this very hard to take in.

"What does that prove? You told me yourself you fell for her the first time you saw her" 

"That was different!" Phillippe snapped.

"Why? What makes it different?" Jay didn't understand and many of the emotions he was feeling decided to show themselves, despite his trying to hide them all "Because you're different? Because you're a big shot royal prince and I'm just an ordinary guy? Well, I'll tell you something, Diana is no ordinary girl and I'll be damned if I'll let you treat her with anything less than the respect and love she deserves"

"Stop it! Just stop it, right now!" Diana yelled as she emerged from the door of the room just down the hall.

"Diana, I have to talk to you..." Jay said immediately.

"No, you don't, not yet, I have to talk to Phillippe first" she told him.

"But I..." his words faltered for a second "I love you"

Diana just smiled, as she said "I know, but I have to talk to him first"

Jay didn't want to go but if it was what Diana wanted then that was what he would do. He walked back down the corridor and around the corner but instead of continuing back to his room he stopped and listened to the conversation that ensued.

"I don't understand" Phillippe said, as soon as Jay was gone.

"Neither do I, really" Diana admitted.

"I thought we were in love, I thought you wanted to marry me" tears formed in the young Prince's eyes and it pained Diana to see it but she was just as confused as he was really.

"So did I, I thought I loved you, maybe I do, but Phillippe we're just kids, we're too young to be tied down in marriage..." she tried to explain but he interrupted her.

"You don't love me?"

"I don't know" she said truthfully "There's a lot of things that I don't know right now and a lot of things that aren't what I thought, and I need to work it all out before I say anything" she looked up at him, but he refused to make eye contact with her. It was just too painful for him right now. "One thing I will say though" she told him "I do care about you and I didn't mean to hurt you in any way"

"It's too late for that..." he said abruptly "because you already hurt me" he turned and opened his bedroom door again, "and I don't think you'll ever know how much" he added as he wen inside and slammed the door.

Tears ran down the blonde girls face and she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"Diana?" Jay reappeared and seeing her sadness he put one arm around her.

"What have we done?" she sobbed.

"Fallen in love?" he tried.

"No, no, Jay, I don't think I have, I don't know if I have" she admitted, pulling away from him, before he got completely the wrong idea.

"But you just told Phillippe..." he didn't understand and she interrupted to explain.

"I told him that I wasn't sure about my feelings for him. That doesn't mean I'm sure about my feelings for you because right now, I'm not. I'm really not sure of anything and I need to work that out before anything else happens"

Jay looked surprised and a little hurt by this revelation 

"I'm sorry" was all Diana could say as she walked away from him.

A/N : Please review and I'll post more soon.


	14. The Aftermath

A/N : Thanx for all the reviews; Mellodramatic, ndblue123, Cordelia Osbourne (this story will have over twenty chapters but I'm not sure of an exact number. Whether it is the last story or not depends on the readers opinions), Cassandra Anthemyst, Starbright Moonlight, Azkaban Canuck, macdeniken, KrystinePotterLover (sorry this chapter made you cry), A Sorta Fairytale - you lot are the best!

So, here is chapter 14 and situation between Phillippe, James and Diana is still causing problems...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 14 - The Aftermath

"I don't understand why you have to go away" Mia looked genuinely upset, "I don't blame you in any way for what happened" she said, referring to the situation with Diana, Phillippe and Jay.

"Your highness" Lars said, too formally for Mia's liking "my daughter and your son cannot be in the same building. It's not fair to them or to any of us either. Perhaps the some time apart will be advantageous for everyone concerned" he admitted. Truth be told he did not want to leave, but it was obvious that it was necessary. "And in any case" he added, "we will not be too far away"

"I'll still miss you" Mia said sadly, "both of you" she sighed, glancing between Lars and Jackie "and Diana too"

"We'll all miss all of you" Michael said honestly.

"I'm ready Dad" Diana said as she emerged from what had been her bedroom.

"Okay, sweetheart, let's go" Lars tried to smile.

"Oh, Mia, could you give this to Phillippe for me" she asked quickly, handing the Queen a white envelope, quite obviously containing her engagement ring.

"Of course" Mia nodded, trying to smile, but failing as tears fell onto her cheeks.

"I am sorry" Diana apologised sincerely as tears began to appear in her own eyes.

"I know" Mia told her, as Lars, Jackie and Diana descended the stairs with their bags. Mia and Michael silently watch them go.

"Have they gone?"

They turned to see their son behind them now.

"Yes, they have" Mia sighed, trying to wipe away her tears and smile at the same time.

"Are you gonna be okay Mom?" her son knew how much Lars, and even Jackie and Diana, meant to her.

"Of course" Mia's fake smile grew "They're only moving just down the road and Lars is still going to work for us so we'll still see him often"

"I feel like it's all my fault" the Prince admittedly bitterly

"No Phillippe" Michael said, firmly, "this could be several people's fault, but you are not one of those people"

"He's right Phillippe" Jay stepped out from the nearest doorway "I know it's my fault and I want to explain if you'll listen..." he said as he came forward.

"Save it Jay, I'm not interested" Phillippe's anger threatened to strike again "Mom, does he have to stay here?"

"Phillippe, please, he's your cousin and I know you're hurt but..." his mother tried to calm him down but he wasn't listening.

"He's not my cousin! My cousin was a decent guy. This, this is some jerk who ruined my life and who I could quite happily knock the living crap out of!" the Prince moved forward and Jay knew what was coming.

"Come on then, hit me, I deserve it!"

"That's enough, Phillippe" Michael yelled, stepping between his son and his nephew, "I will not have this sort of behaviour in front of your mother, and Jay, I think maybe you should go to your room"

"Whatever" the boy shrugged as he walked away again.

"I'm sorry Dad, I'm sorry Mom" Phillippe relaxed now his cousin was gone.

"It's okay" Mia told him, hugging her son "I know it hurts, but we're all family and we have to find away to move on - together"

"It will get easier to cope with" Michael assured him "and in time you will find a way to forgive both of them"

"I don't need to forgive Diana" Phillippe admitted "I love her, nothing's going to change that and I do forgive her, I just can't face the fact that she doesn't feel the same about me anymore"

"And Jay?" Mia dared to ask.

"I don't know if I can forgive him" her son said, a twinge of anger still in his voice..

"Trust me, Phillippe, in time, you will" Michael told him.

Phillippe just nodded and tried to smile for his mother sake as he walked down the corridor, back to his room.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Mia asked her husband.

"Yeah, he's made of strong stuff, like his parents" Michael said, wrapping his arms around his wife from behind, "he'll get through the tough times. We did"

"Yeah, I guess we did" she managed to smile. "Hey, I have an idea" she said turning to face her husband now.

"What kind of an idea?" he asked, curiously.

"Well, to bring the family together more. With Lars, Jackie and Diana moving out and this thing between Phillippe and Jay and everything, well, we need something to bring a bit of happiness to the palace"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, how about a christening for little Lilly" the Queen suggested, "We have a name for her and she has to be christened some time so now is as good a time as any"

"Yeah, why not, and like you say, it might help with the rifts among certain people" Michael agreed.

"Exactly, and also it might help to stop the press and the public suspecting anything is wrong" Mia added. She had to admit a large part of the plan was to hide her family's problems from her country. She could only hope it would all work out soon.

A/N : You know the drill, more reviews means faster updates!


	15. The Christening

A/N : Long chapter here! But before we get into chapter 15, I want to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed chapter 14; Cassandra Anthemyst, Azkaban Canuck, Cordelia Osbourne, macdeniken, Slytherin Chick, Starbright Moonlight, KrystinePotterLover and the anonymous reviewer too! I appreciate all your comments. I think this story is going to be my longest yet - probably over twenty chapters - I hope you will keep reading to the end!

Anyway, on with the story...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 1)

Chapter 15 - The Christening

It took just ten days to organise the christening for Princess Lilly Amelia. The Queen and her husband had worked as quickly as possible to organise the event in the hope that a family event would make certain troubled relationships stronger. The Pelkowskis had remained at the Palace although Phillippe and James stayed out of each others way as much as possible, and Lars, Jackie and Diana now resided in a house not far from the home of the Royals. However, Jackie and Diana had not been to the palace at all since the family had moved out and although Lars still came to work everyday, he had become distant and was now more of an employee and less of a friend. It was not what Mia wanted at all, but there was nothing she, or anyone else, could do about it. She tried to keep busy, which was not difficult with the christening getting ever closer, and hoped that eventually everything would turn out right.

The palace was buzzing on the morning of the christening. As well as the Royals and the Pelkowski family, Mia's mother, Helen, her step-father, Frank, and her half-sister, Holly had arrived two days earlier and were occupying another part of the grand Renaldo residence, as well as Michael's parents who took up another room. It had helped Mia and Michael to have their families around them but life was not easy. Phillippe and James would not speak to each other, which made things uncomfortable for everybody. It seemed to split the family in two and in turn, Mia's heart split in two also. She hated to see the uneasiness between her own family and that of Lilly and Michael, and she told her mother and half-sister about it on the morning of baby Lilly's big day.

"It's been so awful" she complained, "I feel like its partly my fault"

"How could it be your fault?" asked Holly, as she stood by the mirror and attempted to do something with her hair. It seemed the younger sister of the Queen, had as unruly hair as Mia once had, as well as the height and awkwardness, even though she was now twenty four.

"I don't know" Mia sighed, "but, I'm the Queen, I should be able to solve these problems"

"Mia, honey, nobody can solve all the problems in the world, not even the Queen of Genovia" her mother told her.

"I suppose you're right" Mia admitted with a half-hearted smile, "I just hope that after today things might be easier"

"I'm sure it will all be fine in the end" Holly smiled brightly.

"Yes, I'm sure it will" Mia gained positivity from her sisters infectious smile. 'Surely nothing could go wrong today', she thought to herself.

"So, we'll see you there" Mia smiled and hugged Lilly, her sister in law, who was soon to be a god-parent to her daughter, along with Holly and Lars.

"Yes," Lily smiled, "and don't worry, everything will be fine"

The Pelkowkis - Lilly, Boris, James, Nina and Laura - were to travel in one of the Royal limousines whilst Helen, Frank, Holly and Michael's parents would travel in another. The final car would hold, Lars, Mia, Michael, Phillippe and of course baby Lilly. 

Jackie and Dina had also been invited to the grand event but they had declined the invitation. This had upset Mia but she didn't press the issue, knowing that her friends were simply trying to avoid the obvious awkwardness that would have been caused by their presence.

The Genovian cathedral looked especially grand, decked out with flowers and decorations, and filled with well-dressed nobility and guests of the Royal Family of Genovia. Security was strict, as so many Royals were in attendance at the event and the press were kept outside the doors of the cathedral.

Down the aisle of the grand church came the royal party with bodyguards lining the edges to protect the important people. What these noble Genovians and there guests were unaware of was the suspicious nature with which two of the security guards watched the Queen and her younger child. Mia was just yards from the front of the cathedral when one of the security guards, or rather an impostor of one of her protectors, made to snatch her daughter from her arms. Immediately Lars grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground. The noble crowds began to scramble to get away from the scene and out of danger. Mia moved quickly and hugged her baby tight to her chest as Michael wrapped his arms around her shaking body.

More of the security men assisted their leader, Lars, in grabbing the impostor and getting him out of the cathedral but another amongst their number was not what he seemed.

"Everybody stop moving!" an insane scream rang out and everyone turned to see the second impostor waving a gun madly at the crowds. Mia screamed, as did many of the women. Lars still had hold of the first attacker and therefore was unable to pull his own gun. A couple of the other bodyguards found their weapons but knew they would not be able to use them without the criminal using his, almost certainly causing the death of another.

The gunmen turned to point the gun at Lars.

"Let him go" he commanded, but Lars did not give up his hold on the man.

"I said, let him go!" the gunmen screamed maniacally, pulling the trigger. The bullet flew through the air, as if in slow motion, before flying into the right leg of Mia's faithful friend.

Lars let go of the man who moved quickly to the side of his friend. Lars writhed in pain on the ground and Mia took a step towards him.

"Get back!" the gunman yelled and she flew back into Michael's arms, afraid for her life and for so many others.

The plan of the criminals had failed, it should not have been this complicated. They had planned to grab the child and run. It was not the greatest plan but they were desperate for money and the ransom they could have gained from taking the latest addition to the royal household would have solved all their problems. Now, things were more complicated. 

The man with the gun, started to move towards Mia and the child. Michael pulled her close, but deep down he knew he could offer no real protection against the bullets that would no doubt fly. The second man pulled a knife from his pocket and kept his eyes on the crown whilst his accomplice spoke to the royals.

"Give me the child" he sneered.

"Never!" Mia cried, tears falling from her eyes like waterfalls.

"Give me the child" he repeated, "or say goodbye to this world"

"You wouldn't dare" Michael called his bluff, but the gunman just laughed.

"I would" he said, raising his gun. 

Suddenly, the man was off-balance as a younger man flew at him. With a scream Phillippe had jumped at the man with the gun in an attempt to save his parents and his baby sister. Luckily for everyone concerned, the gunmen could not use his gun as Phillippe pulled at his arms and hit at his head, the man with the knife was unsure how to react and by the time he had decided to offer assistance to his 'friend' no further help was needed. The gunmen locked the young princes head under his arm and held the gun to it.

"So, we cannot have the princess, instead we shall have the heroic prince" he laughed dangerously and started to back down the aisle towards the door, his accomplice covering his back. 

"If any of you follow us, I'll shoot the boy" he told the crowds, "and you know I will"

Every person in the building watched as the two men dragged the prince down to the side doors of the cathedral.

"You'll be hearing from us" the gunman called as they disappeared out of the doors.

Mia dropped to her knees beside the man employed for her protection.

"My son" she sobbed, "they've taken my son"

People rushed to the aid of the bleeding man beside her and her family gathered around the distraught Queen. Security men began to move towards the side exit but Michael halted them.

"No" he yelled, "he said no-one was to follow him. I will not have my sons life risked"

The bodyguards had no choice but to comply with the wishes of the Prince Consort and so, for now at least, Prince Phillippe was lost.

A/N : I know, I know, I've done a terrible thing, but please don't hate me. There is a reason for all the bad stuff and I promise it will not be bad forever. Please review and I'll post more soon.


	16. The Guilt

A/N : Wow, loads of reviews! Thanx to; Azkaban Canuck, Cordelia Osbourne, ndblue123, KrystinePotterLover (double review - I'm so proud! lol), A Sorta Fairytale, Starbright Moonlight, Cassandra Anthemyst, princessvampire - you guys are so great!

As for what might happen to Phillippe, well, I'm capable of anything *grins evilly* and I am the author and in charge of everything in this fic so who knows what might happen?! You'll just have to keep reading and praying for his safety! ;)

Anyway, here is chapter 16, hope you enjoy it....

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 16 - The Guilt

"I should have protected them" Lars told his wife "I should have protected _all_ of them". He was in a hospital bed, his leg heavily bandaged, and Jackie at his bedside.

"There was nothing else you could've done, Lars, you did your best. You got shot for goodness sake, you could hardly run after them" she rationalised.

"Jackie, it's what I'm paid to do" he tried to explain. He felt terribly guilty about Phillippe.

You're paid to protect that family and that is what you tried to do. You saved the baby, that was a very brave thing" Jackie wanted desperately to ease her husbands guilt, "I know it's awful that they took Phillippe but I'm sure he'll be okay"

Lars sighed. He didn't want to start an argument about it, so he changed the subject.

"Where's Diana?" he asked.

"Back at the palace with Mia and Michael, and their family" Jackie explained.

"Good, I don't want her to see this" he said, gesturing to the bandages on his leg covering his bullet wound. "How is she?"

"Devastated" Jackie admitted, "about you, and about Phillippe."

"I hope the boy's okay" Lars was genuinely concerned about the boy who he had been almost a second father to (or rather third father if Kenny was counted). "They probably won't hurt him. I'm guessing they're doing it for money," he replied.

"Ransom?" Jackie was shocked.

"Yes. Why else they would kidnap a prince?" Lars asked, rhetorically.

"I'll be back shortly" 

The secret service agent exited the main sitting room of the royal palace, leaving Mia and Michael alone.

"How many more questions? Why can't they just find him, Michael?" Mia asked, putting her head in her hands.

"They have to have all the details Mia, but I'm sure they'll find him" he told her, putting his arm around her shoulders. In truth he was panicking and equally as upset as his wife, but found he could hide all the emotion away and stay strong for those who needed him. 

There was a light knock on the door before it opened to reveal Diana.

"Mia, Michael, any news?" she wanted to know.

"Not yet, Diana" Michael told her.

"I can't believe I did such a terrible thing and now, I might never, I..." tears took away the end of her sentence as she came to sit beside the Queen.

"I know, sweetheart, I know" she comforted her.

A second person appeared in the doorway now.

"Can I come in?" the boy asked.

"Yes of course, what do you want Jay?" Mia tried to smile at him but it was attempt made in vain. She felt that she may never smile again now that her son was gone.

"I just wanted to know what was going on..." he said, nervously entering the room. Diana barely looked him.

"The secret service are trying to work out who took Phillippe" Michael said, simply.

"Y'know I'm such an idiot" James said, wandering into the room, "I get so wrapped up in myself and what's going on in my life and I was so awful to Phil and everyone and this, well, it just makes you realise, oh I don't know..." he was so annoyed at himself, he didn't even know what he was really trying to say.

"It's all right Jay, you can't blame yourself for this" his uncle told him, "Yes, you did something you shouldn't have but you couldn't possibly have known this was going to happen."

"I just want a chance to apologise again. Really apologise" he explained. His last apology had not been quite as heartfelt as perhaps it should have been, he knew that, and all he wanted to do was put things right with his favourite cousin.

"And you'll get that chance, Jay, because Phillippe is coming back" Mia said, firmly. The only way she was going to survive this was to convince herself that Phillippe was alive and would remain that way, and come back soon.

"I hope so" Jay said, quietly.

Silence engulfed the room, as each person within it thought about the young man who could be lost forever. The suffocating quiet was interrupted by yet another tap on the door.

"Come in" Mia managed to say and the agent from before reappeared.

"Your majesty, we have some news about the prince"

"What is it?" Mia was out of her seat and Michael was at her side again in seconds.

"We've just received a note from the kidnappers" the man explained, "it's currently being analysed for finger prints and DNA"

"What does it say?"

"Where's Phillippe?"

Mia and Diana spoke over each other.

"According to the note, he is completely safe but..." the four panicked people in the room hung on every word the agent said, "they're demanding a million dollars for his safe return."

A/N : You know the deal - you review and I'll update v. soon!


	17. The Shock

A/N : Well, at the moment, this story is looking like it's going to be about twenty three chaptrers, and I'm hoping to get it finished and posted by Chrsitmas. Thanx for the reviews on chapter 16; Cordelia Osbourne, Starbright Moonlight, Azkaban Canuck, macdeniken, KrystinePotterLover (I was so proud to get two reviews from you on chapter 15), A Sorta Fairytale, Cassandra Anthemyst, ndblue123 - I appreciate all your comments, but I am not going to tell any of you what is going to happen, you'll just have to keep reading if you want to know! Chapter 17 is quite short so I am posting chapter 18 at the same time. Hope you enjoy both chapters.

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 17 - The Shock

"A million dollars?" Jay echoed, unable to even imagine that amount of money.

Mia slumped back down in her seat and Michael sat beside her. Diana was frozen with her own shock on Mia's other side.

"We'll pay it" the Queen said suddenly.

"Mia, we can't" Michael protested, which only made Mia more upset as well as angry.

"Michael, for our son's life, I'll pay anything" she told him firmly.

"We do advise against that, your majesty" the agent tried to explain.

"What the hell has it got to do with you, this is my son we're talking about!" Mia screamed, an outburst that was completely out of character for the Queen.

"Please, your majesty, I understand this is very distressing for you but if you pay these people money, you have no guarantee they will keep their side of the bargain and let your son go" the man in the doorway reasoned with the distraught royal.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" she wanted to know.

"They want the money by midnight tomorrow, before, well..." the agent decided against saying the prince could be killed, "anyway, that gives us about thirty six hours to get the results from the forensic team and work out who we're dealing with before we do anything."

"But Phillippe is going to be okay" Diana checked.

"We hope so young lady, we all hope so" the agent smiled slightly at her as he left the room.

"I'm going to go and tell the others what's going on" Michael said, breaking the silence that had settled on the room.

"I'll come with you" Mia told him and they left the room together, leaving Diana and Jay alone.

"He's going to be okay Di. Phil's a fighter, you saw that in the church" he tried to assure her, seeing fresh tears fall from her eyes.

"I know, I'm just so scared that something's going to happen to him and he's never going to know..." she stopped herself, but now Jay was curious.

"Know what?" he asked.

"That I'm so sorry" she told him "and that I love him so much" she added in a quieter voice.

"You love him?" Jay felt sick.

"Yes, I wasn't sure before but now, I'd do anything to be with him" she began to sob again and it pained Jay to see it.

"Come here" he said and she went into his open arms. He held her tight and tried to comfort her "It's going to be okay" he said, softly, although he knew he couldn't be sure of that at all. 

Jay hoped Phillippe would be returned safely and the sooner the better of course, but his own pain would not end there. Diana did not love him, she still loved Phillippe. Again Jay would feel alone, but he couldn't think about that right now. Phillippe's life was still at stake and he knew there must be something he could do to help. He wanted to help, he wanted to make everyone happy, especially Diana and he had a feeling he knew a way to do it. To save Phillippe, to help Diana, to make himself a better person, he had an idea of a way to do all that, and he would do it, even if it cost him his life. 

A/N : Keep reading! Chapter 18 is already here...


	18. The Darkness

A/N : Here's chapter 18 (which is a bit longer than 17) Hope you enjoy it.

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 18 - The Darkness

It was eleven o'clock at night when the secret service officials came back to the palace. Jay stood outside a door, listening intently as two of them explained the present situation to Mia and Michael. The guys that had taken Phillippe were criminals from France who had come across the border with the plan it seemed, of snatching the new princess, in order to gain ransom money. They needed the money in order to make a successful getaway from Europe where they were wanted for various crimes in several countries. When their plan of snatching the baby was foiled, they had grabbed the prince as he had made an attempt to save his family. The agents were explaining to the Queen and Prince Consort that whilst these men were criminals they were not murderers and the chances of them harming Phillippe were extremely slim. However, paying them may not serve any purpose as they could easily demand more money before they released the boy.

The agents explained that they knew the location of the prince and his captors and they planned to check out the situation by visiting the derelict building in question, near the borders of Genovia and Italy. (A/N : Genovia is between France and Italy, right?) After they had made their checks of the building, secretly and without the knowledge of the people within, then they would plan their rescue of the young royal.

Jay knew what he had to do, when he heard his aunt begin to cry again and ask what would happen if the plan went wrong. She was not given an answer, because it was obvious - Phillippe could die. It was unlikely, according to the secret service men, that the kidnappers would actually commit murder, but it wasn't impossible and the longer the situation progressed the more likely it became that Phillippe would not come back alive. Jay had a better plan, or so he thought, than anything the secret service could possibly have. If it worked, he would save his cousin, make Diana happy and effectively be a hero, or though he would not do it for the glory. If the plan failed, Jay's life could be more at risk than anyones.

The pitch black of the dark winter night gave good cover to the black car of the secret service agents. The two men, also dressed in black, climbed out and secured the car in the woods, just a few hundred yards from the derelict building where they suspected the royal prince was being held. They carefully moved their way out of the woods and towards the building, checking the weapons that were strapped to their bodies as they went. They did not plan on confronting the kidnappers but if their plan was to fail and they were discovered they would need to be able to defend themselves and protect the Crown Prince of Genovia.

As the two armed agents cleared the last of the trees they were unaware that the trunk of their car clicked open. A young man in a black leather jacket and black jeans jumped out and stretched, before turning around and watching the two agents, only visible from the light of the almost full moon, that had just broken through the clouds, as they disappeared out of his sight.

James Pelkowski prepared himself for what he was about to do. The secret service agents plan was to simply take a look around and come back later for the actual rescue, Jay's plan was much simpler - do the rescue now. Yes, it as more dangerous, but it was the only way to guarantee Phillippe would be okay - or at least, that was how the young Pelkowski rationalised it to himself as he followed a similar path to the agents, out of the woods and across the field towards the abandoned building.

"So what do we do if they don't pay up?" Phillippe listened intently as his two captors discussed his fate. His ankles and wrists were bound to the legs and arms of, a wooden chair, whilst the duo who had done this to him talked over their plan in the adjoining room.

"We're not really gonna kill the kid, are we?"

"Don't worry about it. They'll pay"

"Yeah, but if they don't..."

"Well, then we'll do what we said we'd do"

"But murder, Eddie. We've done a lot of things but we ain't murderers"

"We gotta get that money Joe, we may not have a choice. Now go check on the brat"

Phillippe waited for the return of the man called Joe. He didn't know what to expect from them. He had seen the note that had been sent to his parents as the man called Eddie had taunted him with it, but he did not know whether they were capable of murder. It was now evident that they probably weren't but this didn't quell the Prince's fears. People can be be capable of anything when placed under pressure.

On the roof of the building, the two agents were watching everything from the skylights above each of the rooms. They noted that the Prince seemed physically unharmed and that the two men had just one pistol each as weapons. They watched as one of the criminals came into the room where Phillippe was situated and seemed to talk to him about something before leaving again. It seemed clear to the officials that rescuing the Prince could be done quite easily if enough agents were deployed to the scene. The two men were working alone and it was unlikely that they would harm the prince if there was a possibility of being gunned down by a large group of armed police. 

Whilst the agents watched the scenes from the roof, Jay watched from a window in the side of the building. As the criminal left the room where Phillippe was held captive, Jay realised if his plan was to work, it was now or never.

A/N : Please review because I love to know what you all think and I'll update v. soon.


	19. The Attempted Rescue

A/N : Okay, so it's starting to look like this story will have twenty three chapters, if eveything goes according to my plan. Which means after this one, just four chapters to go.

Thanx to everyone who reviewed; princessvampire, Cordelia Osbourne, Mellodramatic, Nutbarz, ndblue123, and especially big thanx to; KrystinePotterLover, A Sorta Fairytale, Azkaban Canuck, Starbright Moonlight for reviewing both chapters - you're all very kind!

Now, can Jay save his cousin? Read on to find out...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 19 - The Attempted Rescue

Jay took a deep breath and carefully pushed upwards on the glass of the window. The pane slid gently over the other as it's design intended, barely making a sound, but Phillippe heard it. He swung his head around and saw his cousin begin to climb through the space.

"Jay? What the hell are you doing here? You're going to get us both killed?" Phillippe would have yelled, but knowing it was dangerous was forced to make do with a frantic whisper.

"Sshh" Jay silenced him, "We're gonna be fine" he told him, although he didn't know if that was true or not. He crept over to his cousin and started to untie the ropes that held him captive. No words were spoken as one by one Phillippe's limbs were freed.

The agents on the roof had been watching the two criminals planning their next move and at first had not even noticed the rescue mission taking place literally under their noses. When they did notice, they were not pleased. The rescue was risking the life of not only himself, but of the prince and even the agents themselves, but what could they do? They decided the only course of action open to them was simply to watch and only take action if a problem arose.

As Jay untied the final knot, Phillippe was free. 

"How did you know I was here?" the Prince asked Jay in a whisper.

"Does it matter?" his cousin responded, in a similarly hushed tone, as he made his way back toward the window, "Come on!" he whispered sharply and Phillippe made to stand up from his chair.

The young prince had been strapped in one position for more hours than he cared to remember so he was unable to stand up when given the chance. As he made an attempt, he found his legs would not take his weight and he tripped and fell with a loud crash.

In a blind panic, Jay rushed to the side of his fallen friend and cousin, trying desperately to drag him to his feet, but as he'd fallen, Phillippe had hit his head and was out cold.

"What the hell?!" a voice came from the next room and in second the two kidnappers were in the room, their guns in their hands ready to shoot at anything that moved. When they saw Phillippe lying on the ground unconscious, they knew someone else must be in the building. It was impossible that the boy could have unbound his ropes alone.

"Who's there?" Eddie sneered. "Come on, I know you're around here some place" he grinned, evilly, searching behind some boxes in the corner of the room and under a tarp on the other side. "Joe, get the kid off the floor!" he ordered his not-so-smart friend, who did as he was told, but not before lying down his weapon on the window sill behind him. Joe dragged Phillippe's body up and placed him back on the chair as Eddie continued to search around the darkened room.

"Take your gun and check in the next room" Eddie barked to his friend, when he couldn't find anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Joe, as always, obeyed, but when he turned back for his gun, it was gone. Too afraid to admit his mistake to his partner, Joe went next door unarmed whilst Eddie continued to glance maniacally around the room.

Silence returned to the building for a moment as the convict make his second search of the room. Suddenly a sound from the adjoining room caught his attention. A loud thud which made the man wonder what was going on and he called to his accomplice.

"Hey, Joe, did you find anything?"

When his friend did not respond, Eddie was increasingly suspicious.

Still up on the roof, the agents were shocked to see a young boy enter the room where they had seen the kidnappers discussing their plan. The young boy appeared to have a gun which he had used as his weapon when attacking one of the criminals, but not in a conventional way. The convict, known to his accomplice as Joe, was hit forcefully over the head by his own gun as a young man dressed all in black appeared from the shadows. Now was the time for the agents to make their move, hoping against hope that they could do so without harm coming to the Prince or the brave young man in the other room.

Jay couldn't believe what was happening. He had taken a huge risk trying to rescue his cousin, but he'd had no idea things would get this complex. He had knocked out a fully grown man with the butt of a pistol he had stolen from the very same guy. 'One down, one to go', he told himself, but the other man would not be so easy to get past. Standing beyond the door was an armed criminal, hell bent on getting money and getting away. Jay knew this guy could shoot him dead without a moments thought and if not him, then maybe Phillippe. He was starting to think that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, but it was far too late to back out now. Taking the deepest breath of his life, Jay swung open the door.

A/N : I know, I know, another cliffhanger, but it's just so tempting to leave you all guessing! Please review and I promise to update again very soon.


	20. The Rescue

A/N : I'm writing and updating as quick as I can cos I'd like to get this all done and posted by Christmas. Three chapters to go after this one so not much left now. Thanx to everyone who reviewed chapter 19; princessvampire, Azkaban Canuck, Starbright Moonlight, Ali Simmons, KrystinePotterLover, Cordelia Osbourne (Not sure yet whether there will be another story) , ndblue123, A Sorta Fairytale (Hope you had fun at your Winter Ball), Cassandra Anthemyst - you guys always make me smile with your encouraging words.

Now, here's chapter 20...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 20 - The Rescue 

Taking the deepest breath of his life, Jay swung open the door.

Eddie physically jumped, pointing his gun at the moving door, but not firing it.

"Who the hell are you?" he sneered at the boy he saw there.

"I've come for my cousin" Jay said, sounding a lot more brave than he truly felt.

"And what makes you think you have a chance of getting out of here alive?" the older, larger and far more dangerous man, grinned evilly.

Jay swallowed hard, determined not to give in and show his fear.

"Because if you don't let me take him, I'll shoot you" he said, surprisingly calmly, raising the gun he held up so it was aiming at the kidnappers chest.

For a second, Jay thought he saw panic on the mans face but it was quickly replaced by the evil smile that was fast becoming his regular expression.

"Then we have a problem" he told the nervous boy with the gun, "because if you shoot me, I'll shoot him" he said seriously, turning his gun from Jay to Phillippe.

There was no opportunity for any more words to be said or anymore action to be taken. Eddie did not have time to react as the skylight above his head shattered with an almighty sound and a secret service agent landed on his back, knocking him to the ground and sending his gun skidding across the room. 

For a moment, Jay stood in shock as the agent expertly handcuffed the criminal with ease. A scuffle from the next room took his attention away and he turned to see the second agent appear with the second convict, handcuffed and with a nasty gash on his head.

"Are you okay kid?" the first agent addressed the stunned boy, who still held the gun in his hand. All Jay could do was nod, until he heard a groan from his cousin who still sat, half on and half off of the chair in semi-consciousness.

"Phillippe" the boy ran to his cousins side, "can you hear me?"

"Jay?" the prince mumbled, "What the hell is going on?" he finally opened his eyes to see his cousin standing over him, a gun in his hand. "What are you doing with that?" he wanted to know.

Jay could only smile in relief. It appeared that Phillippe was going to be okay.

"It doesn't matter now" he told him, "I didn't really do anything. These guys" he explained, gesturing to the agents who held the Prince's former captors captive, "they saved the day"

"We couldn't have done it without your help, kid" the second agent told him, before turning to Phillippe. "Your majesty, we will send for back up immediately and get you home. Your family are very concerned for your safety and we will see to it that these two get what they deserve" he refered, of course, to the convicts.

The agents, stepped outside of the building as Jay helped his cousin up and help him to walk.

"Jay, does your Mom know you came out here to find me?"

Phillippe asked as he walked slowly and shakily out of the building.

"Are you kidding me? She's gonna kill me when she finds out about this" Jay half laughed as he helped Phillippe to walk.

"Don't joke about it, Jay" the prince said seriously, "You really could've got killed tonight. Those guys had guns and everything"

"You could of died too" Jay pointed out.

"But I didn't have a choice. You did. Why'd you do it?" Phillippe asked, stopping for a second.

"I couldn't let anything like that happen to you" Jay replied, quietly, "You're not just my cousin, you're one of my best friends and you mean a lot to me, man"

Phillippe smiled at his cousin's unusual amount of honesty amd sentiment.

"I owe you a lot Jay" he told him "and I'm sorry I got mad at you about Diana and everything. If you two are in love I guess that's just something I'll have to learn to live with because I know you never meant to hurt me"

"No, you're right, we didn't want to hurt you, neither of us did" Jay assured him, "but you're wrong about us being in love"

Phillippe looked surprised by that and a quizzical look crossed his face.

"Diana wants you Phil. She told me herself" he said, honestly, "I guess she made me see what real love was"

"You came to save me, knowing that Diana wanted me instead of you?" Phillippe couldn't understand his cousins logic.

"We're family Phil, and nothing would've stopped me doing all I could to help you out" the young man studied the area of ground at his feet, "I'll admit I was originally doing this for Di, but then I realised I was doing it for me too. I need you, man, you're my best friend and my favourite cousin and...God I sound like a complete idiot" he laughed at himself.

"Yes, you do" Phillippe admitted with a similar burst of laughter, "but I know what you mean" he added, seriously.

"Now, lets get you home before Aunt Mia floods the place crying over you" Jay smiled, letting his cousin lean on him again and helping him down to the road where secret servce vehicles were appearing. The agents back up had obviously arrived.

"Thanks Jay, for everything" Phillippe said, genuinely.

"Don't thank me" Jay smiled, "just try not to get kidnapped ever again"

A/N : I hope you all enjoyed that. I'm not used to writing action-type stuff so I hope the whole rescue thing turned out okay. Please review and I will update again v.soon.


	21. The Return Home

A/N : Getting towards the end of this now, just this chapter and two more. Thanx for the latest reviews; Cassandra Anthemyst, ndblue123, Cordelia Osbourne (Diana/Phillippe stuff coming soon), Azkaban Canuck (2 more chapters after this one), MeLLoDraMatic, Starbright Moonlight, KrystinePotterLover, princessvampire, Jenna (not sure how I managed to get 203 reviews!) - you lot are the best and I'm so glad you're still reading this story and enjoying it.

Here's the next chapter...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 21 - The Return Home 

Even with his injured leg, Lars was determined to be of some use to the Genovian royals. He was out of hospital just a few hours after he'd gone in and now he was sitting in the front entrance of the palace watching the security cameras. It was past four o'clock in the morning and the secret service agents had gone to check out the location that the prince was being held at over five hours ago. 

What surprised Lars was not the fact that he saw a secret service vehicle return to the place but that he saw more than one. Quickly he was out of his seat and even with his injured leg he was out of the front door, checking the gun strapped across his body as he went.

"Jay? What on earth is going on?" he called as the first young man climbed out of the car.

"It's okay Lars, don't panic" Jay grinned back "I've brought someone to see you..." he stepped aside to reveal his couisn.

"Phillippe!" the security guard was shocked but none the less over the moon to see the young prince home safely. He wrapped the boy in a hug.

"Hi Lars" Phillippe manged to say as his friend and protector nearly squeezed all the air from his body.

"What happened?" Lars asked, letting go of Phillippe and looking between the two boys and the secret service agents.

"Seems this young man couldn't let us do our job alone" the first agent told him.

"Are you both okay?" Lars checked.

"Yes, we're fine" the prince assured him, "just a little tired"

"Then come on in" he said, ushering them toward the door and inside the palace. "your parents are frantic with worry" he told Phillippe "and Jay, do your parents even know you've gone?"

"Not exactly..." the boy admitted.

"I think you both have some explanations for your families" Lars looked worryingly stern, but his expression cracked to reveal a smile "but I'm just so glad you're both okay"

"Lars, what's going on?"

A female voice came from mid way up the stair case. All three guys looked up to see Mia.

"Phillippe!" she cried noticing her son and running down the last few remaining steps, closley followed by her husband.

"Hey Mom, Dad" Phillippe smiled as both his parents hugged him tightly.

"Oh thank God your safe" his mother cried, holding him tighter still.

"All thanks to Jay" Phillippe nodded toward the other boy.

"Jay? What do you mean?" Michael asked his son before turning to his nephew "Do your parents know you've been out?"

"Er, no..." the boy answred nervously "but I think they're about to find out..."

"Mia, Michael, what's going on?" Lilly appeared next with Boris at her side.

"Lilly! Phillippe's back!" Mia said joyously, tears of sheer relief and happiness falling down her face.

"Oh thank God..." Lilly cried, as she and her husband hurried down the stairs, it was only as she reached the bottom she noticed her own son there "Jay what are you doing up and dressed at this hour of the morning?"

Jay smiled and sighed.

"It's a long story Mom, but before I tell you, please promise me you won't freak out..."

"I can't believe you did that Jay" his mother was beyond shock about the whole thing.

"You have got to be the bravest and possibly the stupidest boy on the planet...but I'm very proud of you son" Boris smiled, putting one arm around his sons shoulders.

"Yes, Jay, thankyou for bringing our son home" Mia smiled at her nephew.

"It's okay, I didn't do it for the praise or to be the hero" he said honestly "I just wanted to make sure my cousin was safe and..." he trailed off.

"And?" Michael prompted.

"And, well, you were all so worried and I couldn't stand everyone being upset" he said "especially Diana..." he added quietly, but loud enouigh that everyone heard anyway.

"Do Diana and Jackie even know you're back, Phillippe?" Nina asked. She and Laura, as well as Helen, Frank, Holly and the baby Lilly, had also been awoken by the noise downstairs and had joined the rest of the family in the main sitting room. 

"I guess not" he said, thoughtfully.

"Oh yes, I should call them" Lars realised, "but I'm afraid they may wish to come over if I do. Will that be okay your majesty?" he asked the Queen.

"Of course, Lars" she smiled. "Please, call them, right now".

A/N : Just two chapters left so it should be all done by Christmas. Please review this chapter and I'll post again very soon.


	22. The Reconciliation

A/N : Okay, here is the penultimate chapter. I plan to finish and post the last chapter either tomorrow or Monday so you won't have to wait too long for the final installment. Thanx once again to everyone who reviewed; Starbright Moonlight, Azkaban Canuck, princessvampire, ndblue123, jazy716, KrystinePotterLover, Cordelia Osbourne - it really means a lot to me to know that you are reading and enjoying my story. 

Now, I think it's time to sort out the Diana/Phillippe/Jay situation...

(Disclaimer : see Chapter 5)

Chapter 22 - The Reconciliation

"Phillippe!" Diana breathed, a huge smile on her face, as soon as she saw him, but she did not move from her postiton just inside the door of the room.

"Hey Diana" he smiled too but did not move either.

"I think we should leave these two alone" Michael pointed out and the entire family filtered out of the room, forcing Diana to move from her position in the doorway. Still she did not come too close to the prince.

"Thanks Dad" his son said quietly as Michael left the room. The last person to make for the door was Jay.

"No Jay, I want you to stay" Phillippe said quickly.

"Why?" his cousin wanted to know.

"Just, for a minute, please" 

Jay nodded that he would stay, although he was very uncomfortable with the whole situation. He wasn't in love with Diana but having to talk about the whole feelings thing again was not something he particualarly wanted to do.

"Are you okay?" Diana asked softly.

"Yes, I'm fine" Phillippe assured her, "but we need to talk - all three of us"

"Phillippe, I told you on the way back here..." Jay started but was interrupted by his cousin.

"Jay, I know what you told me, but I need to say something first and then I need to hear Diana speak for hersefl too"

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on?" the blonde girl was confused.

"Diana, I was kidnapped by two criminals and kept at a derelict building near the border. Jay saved my life" the prince explained.

"How?" the girl asked, curious as to how a seventeen year old boy could take on two convicts and win.

"That doesn't matter right now, the point is he did it and he told me he did it because he wanted to save me but also because he couldn't bare to see you hurting" Diana looked over at Jay, who looked away, uncomfortably, "Now what happened between you two kind of shocked me and it hurt me" Phillippe admitted, "but if you two really are in love then I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it..."

"But Phil..." his cousin interrupted again but he was not allowed to speak.

"Ssh, Jay" the prince said, turning back top the girl he lovd, "Diana, is it me or Jay you wanna be with?"

"You, Phillippe" she admitted with tears in her eyes, "It's always been you, I was just too blind to see it, but when I thought I was never going to see you again..." she trailed off and Phillippe held out his arms for her to walk into. He held her tight as she sobbed.

"I love you"

"I love you too" he told her, kissing the top of her head "more than you'll ever know"

"Can I go now?" the other boy asked, feeling even more uncomfortable now than he had a moment ago.

"Jay, I'm sorry..." Diana said, looking over at him.

"It's okay Di" Jay assured her, smiling his most genuine smile "what I thought I felt, well, I don't think it was what I really felt" he shook his head in an attempt to understand his own words and Phillippe laughed lightly.

"I think what my very inarticulate cousin is trying to tell you is that he's not going throw himself off a bridge or anything if we get back together. Right, Jay?" the prince smiled at his own sarcasm and wit.

"Yeah, something like that" Jay agreed.

"Now, you can go" Phillippe encouraged his cousin to leave and Jay got the message and grinned even more.

"I'll see you two love-birds later" he said as he headed for the door.

"Get out!" Phillippe laughed and so did his cousin as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"I am sorry Phillippe" Diana told him truthfully, almost as soon as the door was closed.

"Sshh, it doesn't matter now" he told her, hugging her tightly again.

"When you were taken away and I didn't know where you were, and I just thought the worst..." she said, fighting a losing battle against her next bout of tears.

"But I'm here now and I'm safe and it's all going to be okay" He said, rocking her in his arms.

"Diana?" he said, pulling away a little.

"What?" she asked, looking up into his eyes as he looked down into hers.

"Will you marry me?" he practically whispered. She smiled brightly.

"Yes, as soon as possible. I never want to lose you again"

He smiled too before leaning down and kissing her soundly. 

A/N : Last chapter will be up tomorrow or Monday so check back for that. In the meantime, please don't forget to review.


	23. The Celebrations

A/N : Here is the final chapter of this story. Thanx to all those who reviewed the latest chapter; Azkaban Canuck (will they get married in this chapter? keep reading and you'll find out), Starbright Moonlight, MeLLoDraMatic, princessvampire, A Sorta Fairytale, ndblue123, KrystinePotterLover (whose kids do you want to see?), Cordelia Osbourne (a wedding in this chapter? you may be right), literaryfreak (All American Girl is one of my favourite books!) In fact, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed any or all of the chapters of this fic. If there were no reviewers, then there would be no writers - it is the feedback that keeps me writing!

Time now to end this story...

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 23 - The Celebrations 

"I Diana, take thee Phillippe to be my lawfully wedded husband..."

Finally it was happening. Phillippe and Diana, were becoming husband and wife. At the ages of just over nineteen and not quite eighteen, they were one of the youngest couples in the history of the Renaldo family to be getting married, but it was what they both wanted more than anything else in the world.

As the cathedral bells rang out and the doors swung open, the crowd cheered at the sight of their Crown Prince and his bride, the new Princess Diana. Both sets of parents watched proudly as their children descended the steps and made their way towards the waiting limousine.

"A perfect end to a perfect week" Mia smiled, and it had been such a wonderful week in Genovia. 

On the Monday, Princess Lilly Amelia had finally been christened, and the whole of Genovia had joined in the celebrations, which had, this time, gone off without a hitch. Lars, Holly and had been proud God-parents and the whole country had watched every second of the happy occasion live from outside the church or on television.

On Thursday, James Pelkowski had received his honour of bravery, as it was presented to him by his aunt, the queen of Genovia, on television and in front of a large number of dignitaries and nobility. He was, by all accounts, very embarrassed about his reward, and blushed, Lilly told everyone, more than she had ever seen him blush before. Particularly when the daughter of a duke in attendance, said he was the bravest guy she had ever met, and asked him to dance!

Finally, here they all were on Saturday, attending the wedding of Prince Phillippe and Diana, daughter of Lars, the bravest security guard and best friend that Mia and Michael could have.

"I can't believe I'm a princess" Diana giggled as she and her new husband were about to climb into the limousine.

"You've always been a princess to me" Phillippe told her, kissing her sweetly and causing the whole crowd to erupt with applause as they watched.

Diana blushed as she took her seat it the limo and Phillippe followed.

The royal couple waved as the car pulled away from the cathedral and all eyes were turned to the Queen as she and her family made their way to several other limousines which would take them back to the palace.

"You okay, son?" Boris asked Jay, when he noticed how quiet he was.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm going to be fine" his son assured him, and for once he truly believed it. He did love Diana, but he wasn't in love with her like he'd thought. He loved her like he loved the rest of his family - his sisters, his cousins, his aunts, his uncle, his niece, and of course, his parents. Life had taken a lot of turns for the whole family. There had been ups and downs, tears and laughter, and it felt to Jay as if every emotion possible had passed through him over the last few weeks. In the end, it didn't matter how bad things got, he always had his family. He realised now that it was all he needed. Just to know his family was there for him was enough, and that he was there for them too.

He climbed into the limousine with his parents and his sisters and smiled to himself. He was glad his life was the way it was, and he wouldn't change it now for anything in the world.

In the limo in front of that containing the Pelkowskis, the Queen travelled with her husband and her daughter, and of course Lars and Jackie. 

"It's been an eventful month or two" Jackie sighed, peering out of the window as the car pulled away.

"It certainly has" Mia smiled, "But everything turned out well in the end"

"And it always will" Michael assured her, "because we're a family and we stick together and we can over come anything"

"Indeed" Lars nodded, "because we all truly are family now"

"Yes" Mia giggled, "You are mother and father in law to our son now"

"I find it quite daunting to be mother in law to a prince" Jackie admitted with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry Jackie" Michael told her, "Lars has not only the task of being father in law to a prince, but also God father to a princess" he grinned.

"I think I am going to be very busy" Lars smiled, "but I could not be happier to be a real part of your family your highness"

The baby princess stirred in her mothers arms.

"Well, I think the only person who will be oblivious to the happenings of the last few weeks will be this little one" Mia pointed out.

"I have no doubt, Mia" Michael told her, "that our little Lilly's life will be just as eventful as all of ours" he smiled, "Just wait until she grows up..."

A/N : Please review this final chapter, and if you would like me to write a fifth story you can mention that in your reviews. I am considering writing another sequel and I have a few ideas, so if enough people want me to write another story, I probably will, in the new year. In the meantime, Merry Christmas to you all, and thanx for reading.


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